I caught just a bit of the inauguration yesterday. A television played all day in the lunchroom at school and classes were herded in to hear the President's swearing in, speech, and a few musical pieces.
It was nice, I guess. The music was a bit boring. It all seemed subdued for the grandness of the occasion. The President's speech left me uneasy, somehow. He seemed promise us some things that are outside the realm of human possibility. Claims were made about the power of democracy that left me feeling that this concept was almost deified. Democracy will conquer tyranny. Not just in a few countries where we can make a real difference--but worldwide. Ushering in peace on earth everywhere.
Democracy can do great things, and has, but it is not God. I get uneasy when people start talking about achieving peace on earth, since Christian Scripture warns us to beware when we hear such talk. Only Christ is able to achieve some of the goals the President has aspired to reach. The speech seemed to me to be sprinkled generously with humanly unachievable goals. Which is the core of what left me uneasy. Is this what the President really believes? Why?
Now, I'm a Bush supporter. I voted for him, support him, and have committed to praying daily for him. The speech has inspired me to redouble those prayers. Which may be a hidden blessing. If others are similarly inspired, that can only be a good thing.
Often when I see President Bush, I see an incongruous face. Often the Bush detractors mistake it as an unintelligent one. No--just incongruous. The eyes, steely and determined. The mouth--embarrassed. That's right. He's not quite comfortable in his own skin.
Understand that although he is from a political family, he was raised as a young boy in a small town, with middle class kids as friends. Leaving him with the impression that he's just a regular guy. And a regular guy that finds himself the leader of the free world might be a bit embarrassed by the success. Hence the incongruous face. And the speech. It does not sync with the regular guy part of him that makes people trust him.
Here's a link to a Peggy Noonan column which is pretty good, especially since she agrees with me. ;-) Also, scroll down half the page to a carricature by Ismael Roldan that captures that incongruous face better than any I've ever seen.
OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan
BTW, to somewhat offset the criticism, I DID appreciate the way the President referred to God throughout the speech. And thank God the prayer of invocation was not taken away from us this year.
-Godseeker
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3 comments:
I didn't watch the speech. I didn't watch any of the events. I heard a few news clips yesterday that kept me informed that yes it was inaugural day, yes we were celebrating. That's good, I prayed for everyone involved. One of the news bites that I heard described the presidents morning routine of waking early, reading the bible and prayer, also heading to an early church service. I thought about how centering this must be for him, as well as us. It makes me think about how good I feel when I am commited to my bible reading routine.
I didn't watch any network news stations yesterday. I missed the replays of the speeches. Today, I read one of the major papers at work. Holy Cow, the pictures of the event were fabulous. Very emotional evoking, I read most of the articles and opinions. I was surprised about how favorable they were towards things. Yes, some people were irked at the extravagance. Why not, though? Why not show the world how great democracy is. Yes there were protesters, but why wouldn't there be? They were allowed to do as they wished (although there were security and police there in case they got our of hand - which some did)
It sounds like the speech was very eloquent. Spin doctored to evoke good emotions, to not offend the other party, and to reach out.
Hi ladies - I have started a new aggregator for Christian women bloggers. I've added about 20 people to start it off. I'm not doing a blogroll as people have heaps already. All I ask is that people in it link to it. I added you. Could you email me and let me know if you want to be in (and have linked to it) or not? Here's the link:
Women4God BlogsWe aren't well represented on the aggregators and this is a way for women to read each other and new bloggers to find other women. Once I've heard from the first group I'll open it up to everyone else to join. Thanks.
My email is catez2003 AT yahoo DOT com
I love Peggy but i think she missed the boat on this one. Bush was careful not to say we were doing God's will or any thing like that, but that the desire for freedom is inherent in all of us, and that helping others achieve is the right thing to do. From a Christian veiwpoint, freedom makes it possible for us to reach more people with the gospel than tyranny. A free society is not apt to surpress the gospel. Just my thoughts.
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