Hermeneutics 101

What did Pres. Bush really say in his speech? Did he outline a new foreign policy based on American hegemony? Did he challenge every "tyranny" in the world to a fist fight? Was he merely using soaring rhetoric? Is this an example of Bushian hubris?

I am convinced what the Pres. said was a remuneration of what has been his foreign policy since 9/11. We eludicated his core beliefs about the world and his role as commander in chief of the world's only remaining superpower. Look at what he said in an address to the National Endowment for Democracy in November of 2003:



Historians in the future will reflect on an extraordinary, undeniable fact: Over time, free nations grow stronger and dictatorships grow weaker. In the middle of the 20th century, some imagined that the central planning and social regimentation were a shortcut to national strength. In fact, the prosperity, and social vitality and technological progress of a people are directly determined by extent of their liberty. Freedom honors and unleashes human creativity -- and creativity determines the strength and wealth of nations. Liberty is both the plan of Heaven for humanity, and the best hope for progress here on Earth.



It seems hypocritical that, in a world where diplomacy is so highly revered, the strong, definitive rhetoric that Pres. Bush uses is so greatly reviled. I agree with what Stephen Hayes of "The Weekly Standard" said on "Meet the Press":



“I mean, that worked for President Reagan. You remember when he said, ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.’ We didn't show up with a crane and bring the wall down ourselves. Rhetoric is sometimes action. And I think, in that sense, what the president did the other day is significant and historic and could mark a significant turning point in the history of both this nation and in the world.”



No one can argue that the vision Bush has for the world is both sweeping and quasi-utopian. No one can argue with the fact he cannot accomplish his goal in his presidency. And no one can deny that history has been shaped by visionaries who dreamed bigger than themselves, who lived for more than just there lifetime, who started something they were not able to finish. The key is that they lived, they dreamed, and they started something. Pres. Bush has been consistent and resolute. Are people ever going to see that?