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A few thoughts on Obama’s inaugural speech
Contrary to my initial plans, I went ahead and watched President Obama’s inauguration after all. Since I managed to get home from my interview a little early, I couldn’t really just ignore what is, for many, a huge day in American history and politics. Personally, I don’t see the race thing as an issue. To me, America has gotten over its racist past a long time ago. And from my perspective, the nomination and election of Barack Obama is just an indicator of past progress, not the start of something new.
As I watched Obama (and Justice Roberts) flub the oath of office, I confess that I had to restrain myself from giving the Nelson “HA ha!” laugh. I tried to remain focused on the substance of what President Obama would say in his inaugural address.
Much of what he said was very good. But unfortunately, some parts were exactly what I expected from him and hoped not to hear: patriotism mixed with occasional touches of socialism and totalitarianism. (In case you want to read the entire speech for yourself, here’s the transcript)
“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
Remaking into what? I love America. We don’t need to “remake” our nation. There are always improvements to be made, but the choice of words here is troubling, given Obama’s past as well as his previous remarks.
“We will restore science to its rightful place…”
Is this a wink toward global warming hucksterism? Does he really believe science has been ignored for eight years? Oh please. If anything, pseudo-science has been used as a cudgel to advance a radical political agenda.
“Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short.”
A pre-emptive swipe to diminish those who are opposed to big government programs?
“What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works…”
I fully realize and admit that I’m a cynic. I am skeptical of what this man says because of what he’s already pledged to do, and it causes me to question things like this. To me, this seems like an attempt to inhibit debate. Specifically, to dismiss the questions that have been raised about Obama’s predilection for socialism.
“Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control – and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.”
This seems a calculated attack on the principles of capitalism. It’s not the free market that got us into our current economic crisis, it was government’s heavy hand, forcing private businesses to lower their standards to accommodate some namby-pamby notion of “fairness.”
“The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity…”
This one sounds like just a more eloquent rephrasing of his previous comment; “I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”
“And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect.”
This one has two prongs, so first, I’ll say he’s dead wrong about America being indifferent to suffering outside our borders. Under President George W. Bush, federal funds for AIDS in Africa more than tripled – we’re now spending $48 billion dollars to alleviate suffering abroad. And included in that amount is $9 billion to battle malaria and tuberculosis. Second, I have no problem with what America consumes. I believe we need to begin to wean ourselves off of the world’s resources where possible, but we shouldn’t apologize for what we consume. Nor should the government begin to tell us what we can and cannot consume. Let’s hope they won’t.
There was one particular phrase in Obama’s speech that I think perfectly described Obama’s allies, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid:
“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history.”
Don’t get me wrong. Not all the speech was bad and I don’t mean to disparage the entire thing with a few reservations and objections. There was much to agree with and much to like. In particular, I enjoyed the way he chose to end it, with a quote from Thomas Paine (although it was inferred to have been a quote from George Washington):
“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”
With that in mind, I’d like to end today’s post with another quote from Paine which appears earlier in the book The American Crisis and bears particular relevance to our nation’s current struggles at home and abroad:
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
[...] Feb 2012 in 2008 election, Barack Obama, corruption, humor, politics After looking back at my Jan 2009 blog post about President Obama’s inauguration speech, I realized that almost everything I had worried [...]
[...] of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history.” ~Barack Hussein Obama, January 20, 2009 Share this:Share Posted by FullMetalPatriot 12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, [...]