Presidential oration generic, delusory
By Harry Beckwith
The recently delivered State of the Union Address was typical: President Bush made generic claims, like, "We will always fight for freedom," talked about families that have lost brave loved ones in the war he started on false pretenses and, of course, introduced a sobbing couple whose son was shot to death in Iraq. The terms "freedom" and "liberty" were tossed around in the speech probably more than any sane person could handle.
The most valuable piece of information I got from the speech was this: in the Bush Administration, words speak louder than actions.
Bush talked in great length about private accounts to offset the ailing Social Security program. He made it sound as if it were heaven sent. Here is Bush's claim: "Social Security was created decades ago, for a very different era. In those days people did not live as long." He added, referring to the wonderful private investment accounts that all of us will soon have, "the government can never take it away from you."
Bush, of course, didn't mention where he's going to get the $2 trillion that is needed right now to pay off the existing Social Security debt. To put it in perspective, the total outstanding public debt as of Feb. 14 according to the Bureau of Public Debt is $7,633,735,798,134.95. The estimated population of the United States is 295,583,153, so each citizen's share of this debt is $25,826.02. The national debt has continued to increase an average of $1.86 billion per day since Sept. 30, 2004. But when you have your own private account in Bush's world, black is white and white is black.
The greatest laugh I got while watching Bush deliver his heart-felt speech was when he announced that "the United States has no right, no desire, and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else. That is one of the main differences between us and our enemies."
Now that you have returned to your chair from rolling on the ground with laughter over the most ridiculous lie ever told during a State of the Union address, let's review Bush's steadfast commitment to avoid imposing our form of government elsewhere. A good example might be Iraq. Oh, and Afghanistan, too. Right.
People only know what they can read, hear, see and feel. Since most Americans cannot see or feel what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, we only know what we read and hear from news sources. And as we all know, most Americans don't do either of the two.
The point is, don't listen to what Bush says. Too many people take what authority figures say at face value. Bush admitted to no mistakes during the presidential debate and continues to not admit to any now.
Look at the evidence, look at the causes, look at the effects. Make your own determinations and don't let someone tell you how to think.
* Harry Beckwith is a junior political science major.