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Obama's Second Inaugural Address: An Unofficial TranslationRecently by Gary North: Fantasy Politics: On Reforming the Banking System
Barack Obama, who did not close Guantanamo, prosecute corrupt bankers, or get American troops out of Afghanistan, delivered his second inaugural address on January 21. The address was a judicious combination of platitudes, deception, code words, and a large dose of bloviation at the end. To bloviate is to give long speeches with high-flying words, yet communicate little. The term was coined by President Harding, who was a master of the art. Here is an exceptionally deceptive paragraph:
We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well. Translation: "I will pull the troops out of Afghanistan soon. Trust me. I was so busy over the last four years, it somehow escaped my attention." Let us continue.
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life's worst hazards and misfortune. Translation: "Social Security and Medicare are not going belly-up. Trust me. Don't trust Professor Kotlikoff's estimate of a $222 trillion unfunded liabilities. What does he know? In any case, I won't be in power when the government stiffs the geezers. In any case, I'm not dependent on either Social Security or Medicare. I'll be just fine. So will Michelle. Don't worry."
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society's ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character. Translation: "We need people to tax. Keep working. Keep innovating. The IRS is on the job."
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today's world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we'll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people. Translation: "Government spending will rise. Taxes will rise. The deficit will rise. We will kick the can."
This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. Translation: "After four years under my leadership, troops are still in Afghanistan, unemployment is at 7.8%, but things will get better. Trust me."
America's possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together. Translation: "The IRS will seize your pay if you don't fork it over."
For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America's prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own. Translation: "The welfare state is just getting rolling. I will push for a hike in the minimum wage."
We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed. Translation: "Boehner will buckle. Taxes will rise. And schools will get better. Trust me."
We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. Translation: "We will kick the can in bipartisan unity."
For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That's how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That's what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared. January 25, 2013 Gary North [send him mail] is the author of Mises on Money. Visit http://www.garynorth.com. He is also the author of a free 31-volume series, An Economic Commentary on the Bible. Copyright © 2013 Gary North
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Translation:
"Uncle Sugar is alive and well. Get out your wallets."