A clarion call for global liberty
New York — In and stirring and poignant address which set forth the tone and tenor of his second term, President George W. Bush sounded a clarion call for global liberty. Amid the pomp and majesty of his inaugural speech, the President outlined a broad vision for expanding freedom and liberties.
“As long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny prone to ideologies that feed hatred,” he advised, “There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that force is human freedom”
Exuding optimism and hope Bush stated his case with clarity: “So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” Take the recent example of Ukraine.
The address which bridged the utopian idealism with the hardscrabble realism of the national interest, saw the President without citing specifics, lists a philosophical framework for the road ahead. Call it a mix of Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Wilson Reagan. The appeal was stirring but the specifics could become complicated as one tours the world map of political regimes.
The political idealism is glaring but the national security realpolitik element remains clear — “We are led by events and common sense to one conclusion. The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world remains expansion of freedom in all the world.”
Interestingly while Bush made many multiple references to freedom and liberty, he did not speak specifically of the expansion of political democracy as he has so often in the past. Here too we see the genuine difference between the structures of formal democracy which sadly and ironically has led to anything but freedom in many countries worldwide.
Democracy has become a global mantra. Few countries among the member states of the United Nations today choose to call themselves People’s Republics — no longer the political vogue — yet many places in Central Asia for example, have used the trappings of democracy as a way to formalize odious authoritarian rule.
Bush stated importantly, “America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.”
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He added significantly, “ Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities.” Does this mean Iraq?
“There can be no justice without freedom and there can be no human rights without human liberty,” he stressed sounding a bipartisan theme which had united American Presidents in confronting Soviet communism.
“Some I know have questioned the global appeal of liberty — though this time in history four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt.” He added “Americans should never be surprised by the power of our ideals.”
While this certainly remains true, in the post-Cold War era and given the current Iraqi imbroglio, many Americans have little enthusiasm for tilting at political windmills in far off places.
Bush implored boldly, “Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world: All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you. Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.”
Indeed the democracy movement in Burma and Zimbabwe will and should take heart. Burma’s benighted military regime, called Myanmar by its ruling socialists, will do doubt wince, as will Comrade Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, and maybe Fidel Castro will blink in Cuba. But then we get to the tougher cases of Islamic Iran, North Korea and People’s China. We live in interesting times.
John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense
issues. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com.  |
