In yesterday’s short speech on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Obama mentioned freedom five times and liberty once. Until now, he has rarely referred to freedom, so this was refreshing. (OK, he didn’t mention Reagan or Gorbachev. I don’t expect miracles.)
Today, in honoring the 13 soldiers killed by a radical Muslim American officer at Fort Hood, he brought up freedom twice more and liberty once again. And he had beautiful words for the friends and families of those who died:
“Your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched. Their life’s work is our security and the freedom that we all too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town, every dawn that a flag is unfurled, every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that is their legacy. Neither this country nor the values upon which we were founded could exist without men and women like these 13 Americans.”
That is good writing.
“The freedom that we all too often take for granted.” It was encouraging to hear this president speak these words, because he himself so long has seemed to take freedom for granted.
Obama also said “In Iraq, we’re working to bring a war to a successful end, as there are still those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that Americans and Iraqis have sacrificed so much for.” At the United Nations two months ago, he had said only that we were “ending a war” in Iraq, as if it didn’t matter which way it ended. Today’s words were a distinct improvement.
Met with justice. To those who wondered if Obama would dance around the religion of Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who is accused of gunning these soldiers down shouting “Allahu Akbar,” the president spoke directly and clearly:
“It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy. But this much we do know -- no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice -- in this world, and the next.”I think these were the perfect words to address what Hasan allegedly did.
The president also said, “Here, at Fort Hood, we pay tribute to 13 men and women who were not able to escape the horror of war, even in the comfort of home.” This was very close to calling these 13 deaths an act of war -- far bolder than others’ public suggestions that the massacre was an isolated crime.
Liberty and equality. If Obama said anything controversial, it might have been in these nearly innocuous words:
“We defend that truth at home and abroad, and we know that Americans will always be found on the side of liberty and equality. That’s who we are as a people.”I’m not sure any other American president has said we are always on the side of “equality.” Perhaps a president has said something like it, in celebrations with the French of “Liberte, egalite, fraternite.” “Equality under the law” might be a better description of what America stands for. Enforcing equality in all things is not a Western tradition, and as we know, it has caused great sorrow in the East.
Democratic words. Except for that quibble -- “equality” easily might have been Obama’s shorthand for “equality under the law” -- today’s address was a classic.
The president spoke soothing words in a time of mourning, uplifting words on the ideals of bravery and freedom. These were the words of a real American leader.
Frank Warner
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Update: Others seem to agree this speech was exceptional.
See: Obama’s Best Speech Ever and The Best Speech Obama's Given Since...Maybe Ever.
Also: President Obama's small masterpiece of a speech at Fort Hood.
Also: Commander sets the right tone for once.
However: Daily Kos thought the speech too theocratic.
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