Wolf D. Fuhrig

Home

Freedom's Many Meanings

In his second inaugural address President Bush invoked "liberty" 17 times and "freedom" 27 times, according to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post. The President's speechwriter may not know it, but linguistically "liberty" and "freedom" are synonyms, the former being of Roman, the latter of Germanic origin.

To let freedom ring is a proud American tradition, from Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" to Ronald Reagan's plea across the Berlin wall: "The quest for freedom is the birthright of all humanity."

It was patient diplomacy and military preparedness, not a preemptive military strike, which brought freedom to the captive nations east of the Iron Curtain. Today, however, any foreign friend or foe who has heard or read the President's address can no longer doubt that he is determined to impose upon "rogue" countries the kind of freedom he envisions--by unilateral military action, if he so decides.

For Mr. Bush, individual freedom means democracy first and foremost. For people oppressed by a dictator or a dictatorial junta, as in North Korea, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, or Cuba, freedom certainly means an end to tyranny. Yet, for people under foreign occupation, such as Palestinians and Iraqis, freedom means above all the departure of the occupiers. The poor and disease-ridden, particularly in the less developed countries, want to be freed from their physical suffering. Even if they heard of a foreign ruler's intent to change their government, they would hardly feel helped by the President's political plans for them.

Ironically, Haaretz, Israel's most widely read daily, exclaimed: "Hold on to your hats, this may be the most ambitious presidency ever." The Nation, America's oldest weekly magazine, considered it "possible to have the freer world that Bush speaks of, but the idea that those who are strong and have a larger arsenal have an unchallenged right to impose their will on the weak, undermines democracy."

The Toronto Star found the President's address "unabashedly aggressive." China's official People's Daily was blunter than usual: "Judging from Bush's inauguration theme in 2005, being morally conceited and militarily aggressive are two major elements of American nationalism."

While the President was extolling America's enduring commitment to individual freedom at his $40 million dollar re-coronation, the Washingtonians, who had given him only 9 percent of their vote, found themselves inconvenienced by thousands of soldiers and police for the protection of the inauguration and its lavish festivities. The protesters had been cordoned off into a fenced-in reservation at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 4th Street, and, for the first time ever; the press was escorted into, and out of, a small, restricted area at the Constitution Ball.

All this goes to show that while America's fighting men and women are to bring democratic freedoms to foreign lands, freedom of movement in our nation's capital is more limited than anybody could ever imagine. It seems the armies of security guards and metal detectors will be a part of our new way of life for a long, long time. I am so glad I first experienced Washington in 1951 when I could freely roam through the city by day and night and move from building to building without being stopped or searched by anybody.

For Americans, the President's exultation of freedom was nothing new, but many listeners abroad took his warnings as a threat to their self-determination. What they found missing was his much ballyhooed compassion, a promise to listen to friends and potential foes alike, and a call for less confrontation and more reconciliation.

As always, it was uplifting to hear the president conclude with the prayer "May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America." It would have been even more uplifting, had he added: "and please, Lord, watch also over all the other nations that share your kingdom with us.