The second inaugural address: "Can you hear me now?"

Curtis Dahlgren
1/24/05

"America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this Earth has rights, and dignity and matchless value because they bear the image of the maker of heaven and Earth." — President George W. Bush (2005)

MADDIE O'HAIRE WOULD BE PITCHIN' A FIT: the 2005 inauguration featured not one but two prayers, plus the "So help me God," and in the speech afterward, the President alluded to the Almighty three times, plus he quoted two scripture verses.

As President Bus! h pointed out, "Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world." But he was also dealing with the fact that we have been attacked both from without and from within. His Super Critics within have been so far off the mark that his speech was like a pitcher saying to the batter, "Here comes a curve ball; see if you can hit this one!"

He used the words freedom and liberty 42 times in 40 paragraphs. Besides that, he used words such as conscience, common sense, and Constitution; decent, ideals, and the truths of Sinai. He mentioned achievements and law, and he used the word "history" 5 or 6 times, and even used "sabbatical" — which may be a first in the history of Inaugurals.

Some of this seemed 'over the top' to some decent people, but Winston Churchill was probably 'over the top' in his "If the British Empire should last for a thousand years" speech, too. But he did it on purpose and so did President Bush. His Super Critics have been running on sound b! ites and catchwords so long that he purposely used the Real Thing — freedom and liberty! It was as though he were daring his critics to take the bait.

They have taken the bait, and he's letting them run with it. But his speech wasn't minimizing the dangers, nor ignoring our "limitations" — that's why he used the quote by Abraham Lincoln:

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it" [i.e., whether those people are at home or abroad].

If President Bush weren't aware of our "limitations," he wouldn't have bothered to say that "the public interest depends on private character — on integrity and tolerance toward others and the rule of conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self."

And if he were unaware of our "limitations," he wouldn't have mentioned the Sermon on the Mount, or the fact that we must reaffir! m "all that is good and true that came before — ideals of justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today and forever." [Hebrews 13:8 — a reference to Jesus Christ (I think the President came closer to calling for national repentance than Billy Graham did over the weekend)!]

Many critics took the bait and ran with it, of course. Bob Herbert took pen in hand and PUN-ditally wrote "Dancing the War Away" for the New Yawk Times (01/21/05). He would have preferred a ceremony such as FDR's in 1945, "when words were few." It was the "WORDS," I'm sure — all the words, at this year's inauguration that got under his skin (more than the "cost" of the Ball).

In the world of a New Yawk Times writer, secularism and absolute banning of the name of God from the public square had been a presumed foregone conclusion — only a matter of time. Sure, and the Bolshevists banned the name of God in their 70 years in charge of Russia? HAH!

DUH. And as! for the "cost of the Ball," I had to remind someone that with nearly 300 million people in the USA, the total cost of the inauguration came to about 13 cents per person, which is not much more than the deposit on one beer can in Michigan! It was 25 percent less than the cost of Bill Clinton's party ball 8 years ago (adjusted for inflation), plus it was largely financed with private donations.

Some columnists cast aspersions on the notion that, as Graham hinted, God might have had something to do with giving "four more years" to our President. If you think THAT was "daring," you ought to study what our preachers were saying before the IRS invented income tax deductions for members of churches certified by the government!

There's a 1,779 page work you could go to — POLITICAL SERMONS OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDING ERA: 1730-1805, In Two Volumes. It's a collection of fifty-five sermons during that time span (edited by Ellis Sandoz, Louisiana State University). I'm sure M! r. Herbert can't wait to get his copy, so he can go to: www.libertyfund.org!

The left will never take a ten-count, of course, nor "give up the ship." They have "not yet begun to fight," and if the IRS eventually got Al Capone, their friends in the ACLU and on the federal courts may yet figure out a way to silence the churches of God, because — to the Left — liberty and freedom mean just one thing: freedom FROM religion.

Oh, and the other line that the President "stole" from the Holy Scriptures was that America, in this young century, "proclaims liberty throughout all the world and to all the inhabitants thereof." He "lifted" this from the Liberty Bell, whose forgers "lifted" it from Leviticus 25:10. If you say that's "not applicable," there's the even more futuristic version in Isaiah 61:1.

"The Lord hath annointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhe! arted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison doors."

If that's "WAY too much God" for some of you (even for some Republicans), that's just tough!

The meaning of Scriptural "words" are self-explanatory and clear. There is no need for "nuance" to help you picture the open door of a prison. The only people who are "threatened" by such words as liberty are the keepers of the prisons, and no amount of "finesse" will comfort them. To them it is SCARY to see liberty even "proclaimed" to the world, never mind any enforcement of it.

God could raise up stones to replace human beings in the mission of "proclaiming liberty to the captives" — if necessary — and He could bring down stones for the enforcement of it if necessary.

By the way, in my November 22nd column, I said that "It's later than you think" — twice! In my December 24th column, I said, "It's later than it's ever been before." And to my shock, the earthquake that set! off the Indian Ocean tsunami struck shortly before midnight on the 25th.

In Today With God, the January 7th reading tells about a young man who was trying to catch a train but failed. A bystander in the station said to him, "You didn't run fast enough, did you?"

"Yes I did," said the boy. "But I didn't START soon enough!" I was reminded of this because of pictures I saw of people in the tsunami target area who died running for their lives. THEY RAN FAST ENOUGH, BUT THEY JUST DIDN'T START SOON ENOUGH.

There must be a lesson in there somewhere. Maybe the words of W's second inaugural address will help us figure out that lesson!

"For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery . . .
"Lift up a standard for the people . . the Lord has proclaimed unto the ends of the world
"Look down from heaven and behold this vine . . .
"Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us." — Isaiah

AMERICA, PLEASE PHONE HOME!
© Copyright 2005 by Curtis Dahlgren
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/dahlgren/050117




Curtis Dahlgren