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1/20/2005 - The Rhetoric of George W. Bush - By Richard Aaron Wright

m a n i f e s t     d e s t i n y    (noun):
1. A policy of imperialistic expansion defended as necessary or benevolent.
2. The 19th-century doctrine that the United States had the right and duty to expand throughout the North American continent.
3. A policy of imperialism rationalized as inevitable (as if granted by God)

George W. Bush employs Manifest Destiny in formulating international policy. He believes proselytizing for "Freedom" and "Liberty" is necessary and benevolent; yet, he doesn't believe proselytizing will be seen as imperialism in the countries where these international policies are applied. Remarkably, he and his advisors remain firmly committed to the ideal that the United States will be welcomed with open arms because of the freedom- and liberty-bearing torches carried by its military, even if those torches sometimes kill the people they are there to save.

I took George Bush's speech given September 20th, 2001 and replaced all occurrences of the word "Freedom" with the word "Jesus."

.... Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend [Jesus] .... On September the 11th, enemies of [Jesus] committed an act of war against our country .... All of this was brought upon us in a single day, and night fell on a different world, a world where [Jesus] itself is under attack ....They hate our [Jesus]: our [Jesus] of religion, our [Jesus] of speech .... This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake is not just America's [Jesus] .... This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and [Jesus] .... The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. [Jesus] and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them .... Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend [Jesus].

It would be interesting to do this with his other speeches, maybe exchange the word "Liberty" for "Christianity" in those also. For a very cynical twist we'll try replacing economic terms such as "Money" and "Capitalism" with "Freedom" and "Liberty," respectively.

Click Here - George W. Bush's Second Inaugural Address — ( REDUX I ) With all occurrences of the word "Freedom" replaced with the word "Jesus", and all occurrences of the word "Liberty" replaced with the word "Christianity"

Click Here - George W. Bush's Second Inaugural Address — ( REDUX II ) With all occurrences of the word "Freedom" replaced with the word "Money", and all occurrences of the word "Liberty" replaced with the word "Capitalism"

It should be no surprise that Bush's rhetoric is steeped in evangelism since most evangelical Christians believe salvation is dependent on the imposition of Jesus (Freedom) and Christianity (Liberty). It is somewhat surprising that these same people tend toward a belief that salvation also comes from Money (Freedom) and Capitalism (Liberty). By duty and good intentions they seek to impose these perceived tools of salvation on the rest of the world.

It's not the first and won't be the last time a leader uses equivocal political buzz words in place of religious or financial ones. But while many cozy up to George W. Bush's well-written rhetoric, others dissect what he is saying and make these substitutions on the fly.

The rhetoric of politics is as thin as the rhetoric of religion, which is to say that talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words. It's been the words of George W. Bush that have hurt the perception of America the most during his four years in office, and it'll be the actions under his watch which will cement his presidential success or failure. While his words work for those at home, they're seen as flagrant misrepresentations by those who hear them overseas. Much of the world believes Bush means something different than what he says.

Now why would they think that to be the case? He's just a politician after all ....

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