From the Fox-TV Transcript.... (20 Jan 2005)
"... Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. "
---A nice parallel to Lincoln's "...as I would not be a slave, I would not be a master".
"... In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time. "
---An interesting choice of programs to cite.
"... To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools, and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance - preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear, and make our society more prosperous and just and equal. "
---"The Ownership Society" may be the biggest idea to change the political language in DC, in the manner of the Square Deal, the New Deal and the Great Society.
".... And our country must abandon all the habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time. "
---I wonder if this applies to the G/L Community as-well? He's often spoken of the dignity of the Individual.
I thought it interesting that he cited the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Quran. And tyranny seems to be the new "word", echoing Secy-designate Rice's Six Pillars of Tyranny comments during her Senate confirmation. The choice of language is interesting in-light of the Islamic Six Pillars of Faith...incorporating Islamic religious-language into the predominantly Biblical-language of American politics.
