January 17, 2005: Town Hall: If we inquire from whom President Bush may draw inspiration, I believe it would be President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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January 17, 2005: Town Hall: If we inquire from whom President Bush may draw inspiration, I believe it would be President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
| Ask Not As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." |
If we ask most people to recount their favorite inaugural moment, either in their lifetimes or from their history classes, most will recall John F. Kennedy challenging a nation to service. If we inquire from whom President Bush may draw inspiration, I believe it would be President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's fourth inaugural address during the last year of World War II, when he not only captured the moment but also looked forward to a world our nation would help forge in the years and generations to come.
If we ask most people to recount their favorite inaugural moment, either in their lifetimes or from their history classes, most will recall John F. Kennedy challenging a nation to service. If we inquire from whom President Bush may draw inspiration, I believe it would be President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's fourth inaugural address during the last year of World War II, when he not only captured the moment but also looked forward to a world our nation would help forge in the years and generations to come.
'I do solemnly swear...'
Jack Kemp (archive)
January 17, 2005 | printer friendly version Print | email to a friend Send
On Jan. 20, 2005, President George W. Bush will be sworn in as only the 16th president in the history of the United States to serve two or more terms. This week we are celebrating a quadrennial tradition of peaceful transition from one government to the next - something about which many countries even today can only dream. This transition has been accomplished peacefully for so long that we almost take for granted how truly remarkable this event really is.
Indeed, today when we think of the inauguration, thoughts of civil war, violence or bloodshed seem the farthest things from our mind. Instead, we tend to focus on the inaugural address or the pomp and circumstance associated with the parade, balls and parties that have become an integral part of inaugural week in our nation's capital.
In fact, if we ask most people to recount their favorite inaugural moment, either in their lifetimes or from their history classes, most will recall John F. Kennedy challenging a nation to service: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
Historians tend to focus on Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address in the closing days of the Civil War, when he tried to heal a nation, reaching out to the South as he spoke: "With malice toward none, with charity for all." I still get chills when I read these words every time I visit the Lincoln memorial on the mall in our nation's capital where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, and directly in view from where Bush will speak Thursday.
It has often been said that great moments make great speeches. That was certainly the case for Lincoln, who rose to the occasion and defined the moment. If nothing else, Bush's first term was marked by momentous events, some within his control, but more often events that he was forced to confront. As William Shakespeare once observed, "Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." This president leads a nation at a perilous time in our history, and the challenge of his address will be to seize this moment and make it his own.
If we inquire from whom the president may draw inspiration, I believe it would be President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's fourth inaugural address during the last year of World War II, when he not only captured the moment but also looked forward to a world our nation would help forge in the years and generations to come. It was a short, but poignant address, part of which stated:
"Our Constitution of 1787 was not a perfect instrument; it is not perfect yet. But it provided a firm base upon which all manner of men, of all races and colors and creeds, could build our solid structure of democracy. And so today, in this year of war, 1945, we have learned lessons - at a fearful cost - and we shall profit by them. We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations far away. We have learned that we must live as men, not as ostriches, nor as dogs in the manger. We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community. We have learned the simple truth, as Emerson said, that 'The only way to have a friend is to be one.'"
Were these words spoken by Bush today, they would make as much sense in our time as they did to Americans listening to Roosevelt in 1945.
The president's inaugural address is important - and difficult - because each president simultaneously seeks to reach into our past to paint a picture of the American experience for continuity, reach into his soul to capture the spirit of our time and reach for the horizon to describe an America that has yet to come. Yet the inaugural address still is not the most significant event of the day.
The most important event this week will be when Bush places his hand on the Bible and takes that solemn oath: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will try to the best of my ability to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." This is the only constitutionally mandated act of the day. To this phrase George Washington added "so help me God," which has become part of the traditional oath.
That solemn oath, taken on the Bible, is the thread that unites presidents past and present.
It reminds us of the dignity of the office and serves as a gentle warning that while the president serves at the pleasure of the people, he ultimately must answer to a higher authority.
©2005 Copley News Service
When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help? |
| The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005. |
| Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia." |
| Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
| The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
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Story Source: Town Hall
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Presidents - Kennedy; Presidents - Bush; Speeches; Inauguration
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