All Politicians Speak English but Only A Few Speak American
by Jim Moore

02/10/03

When politicians, for instance Congressmen, stand up to speak it's like a college debating society. Only more pompous, more parochial, more polarized, and certainly more boring. 

Although they all deliver their message in English, words that any half-way educated American citizen can understand, when politicians get through pontificating they might just as well have spoken in Chinese, for all the good their words have accomplished.

That's because there is a great deal of difference between speaking English and speaking American. I have yet to hear any politician stand up, save one or two, and actually break the mold and speak American..

If the difference escapes you, think of it this way: politicians who speak English press their points in generalized, close-to-home rhetoric; that is, they rattle on about budgets, rising crime rates, the educational system, tax incentives, national deficits, energy alternatives, and so on.

And now, with war clouds gathering, their rhetoric has changed direction but lost none of its generalizations. However, now it's colored for war. It has turned to weapons of mass-destruction, troop build-up, allied coalitions, homeland security, the use of foreign bases, and so forth..

I suppose all that mouthing off is par for the course in a political atmosphere dealing with the usual human problems; and in this country, English is the designated language in which these problems are discussed. Or should be

So for once, just once, I would love to hear a politician, or any prominent speaker for that matter, get up, can the rhetoric, forego English, and start speaking American. 

Straight forward, gut-level talk; not about the troubles we've gotten ourselves into, but how we could have avoided them in the first place. Not about our territorial objectives, but our Constitutional restraints. Not about our president's pronouncements, but the guidelines for freedom that our founding fathers laid down their lives to give us.

Not about our politics and policies, but about the ideals and principles we have stupidly turned our backs on.

Not about what America is doing, but about what America SHOULD be doing.

When it comes to "those" things---respecting patriotism, protecting our heritage, adhering to our formula for freedom, living the tenets expressed in our founding documents, following the laws that keep us independent, and minding our own business--- most of our Beltway bunglers, and even local politicos, seem to have opted out.

They are more interested in self-promotion, party loyalty, slamming the competition, and winning the next election---in the same country, incidently, that makes all that nonsense possible.

Thank the Lord, however, that not all voices in power speak English. Some actually speak American. And one of those is a Congressman who has been mentioned many times before. 

His name is Ron Paul, and if this man never rises beyond the rank of Congressman from Texas, he will, in my opinion, have still done more for his country than all of his dissenters combined. .

When Paul gets up on the floor of Congress and expresses his opinions, most of his colleagues sit respectfully quiet and casually write off his candid observations. Congressman Paul's no-bull talk, I venture to say, is not taken seriously by those with opposite views, or thin skins, which can be expected. 

But those who agree with Paul, also sit mute, to their discredit, and apparently do not have the backbone to stand up with him and be counted.

And what is this American language that Ron Paul speaks, which sounds so foreign in these austere chambers? American. 

Here some excerpts from Ron Paul's speeches to Congress.


On Foreign Meddling

"We were warned, and in the early years of our Republic, we heeded that warning. Today, though, we are entangled in everyone's affairs throughout the world, and we are less safe as a result. The current Middle-East crisis is one that we helped to create, and is typical of how foreign intervention fails to serve our interests. Foreign intervention is bad for America. Special interests control our policies, while true national security is ignored, and financial interests of corporations, bankers, and the military-industrial complex gain control---and the American people lose."


On a Police State

"One might look at our Capitol for evidence of a police state. We see barricades, metal detectors, police, military soldiers at times, dogs, ID badges required for every move, vehicles checked at airports and throughout the Capitol. The people are totally disarmed, except for the police and the criminals.

"The terrorist attacks ((9/11) only provided the cover for the do-gooders who have been planning for a long time before last September to monitor us "for our own good." Cameras are used to spy on our drug habits, on our kids at school, on subway travelers, and on visitors to every government building and park. Anything goes if it's for government-provided safety and security."


On Government Accountability

"Literally tens of billions of dollars go accounted for every year, simply disappearing down bureaucratic blacks holes. The federal government doesn't need to raise money by meeting a market demand or raising investment capital---it simply takes what it wants through taxes, which can be raised at will. It never has to operate profitably or efficiently. It also has no incentive to cut costs. In fact, federal agencies scramble to spend every last penny of their budgets to justify more next year. There is no stock price to worry about, and nobody tracks government performance against earlier years. The only thing we know for sure about the federal budget is that it will go up every year unless and until voters remove the politicians who insist on taxing, spending, and borrowing us to death."


Will Congressman Ron Paul ever become president of the United States? Probably not. Because he doesn't speak English. Only American.



Jim Moore
Jmoore1819@aol.com

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