by John Brennan
Recently by John Brennan: Taxation by Citation
I just heard the latest speech by our illustrious president. It seems to me he is desperately reaching to get the American people behind him once again. His poll numbers have fallen off the chart; lower than Jimmy Carter's at the height of his disastrous presidency. As we have all witnessed, politicians will stoop to anything to win back the confidence of the people, but this attempt by Obama to appeal to the very core of what Americans hold sacred, is merely a cheap trick indeed.
Politicians will say anything to get people to like them. Or perhaps I should say, they will repeat anything that was written for them to say. The president has speechwriters that analyze the pulse of the American people and tailor the theme of a speech to appeal to as many as possible. If speaking to war veterans, you talk about heroic accounts of battles long past. When called upon to deliver the graduation speech at some high school, you talk about the bright future ahead. And if the farmers of Iowa ask for a few words, you tell them how rosy the corn production numbers look this year. Well, this latest speech was intended to pull at the very heartstrings of the people.
When times get tough, writers have learned to sprinkle the presidents speeches with buzzwords that have a real punch; words that reach out for the gut of the common man. George W. was a master at it. The words freedom, democracy, liberty would pour out of his mouth like depleted uranium rounds from a 50-caliber machine gun. Every time he would say a certain word, the crowd went nuts. Obviously Obama's stable of wordsmiths have caught on to the trick. They took full license on this latest speech delivered at a Democratic party picnic held outside of Miami Beach. The speech was brief, but so transparent, it was laughable. He has clearly mastered the art of speaking in circles. Hell, I thought I was listening to some Baptist preacher on Sunday morning. Here it is exactly as delivered:
My fellow citizens, being Americans we are blessed; blessed in many ways. To be blessed like we are, we are allowed to enjoy the freedom to benefit from being so free. Free to enjoy the blessings of that freedom. As my predecessor said, there are people out there that don't like the freedom we have here so they try to destroy it, but they never will. They aren't free to be blessed like we are here in the United States. America is unique and different; unique because of the freedom that exists in this blessed nation under God. The liberty to taste the freedom we have. Freedom is a precious thing and therefore it should be what America is based upon. The very freedom that makes this country so free is the liberty to be as free as we want. Sure, we could be less free, but the freedom we have won't allow that. Democracy is the freedom to be able to vote for freedom. The founding fathers fought for the freedom to be as free as they could possibly be. That is why we are free today. We are blessed by the freedom to be a democratic nation with freedom and liberty for all. God blessed America in a special way. He blessed it with justice and with high moral standing in order for it to be free to enjoy the blessings we all have. It inspires us all to know that freedom is meant to be embraced by all those that believe in freedom. Other countries may say they are free, but here in America when we say it, we mean it. Here in America, we know we are free. We are free to think about freedom and democracy anytime we want. It could be 1:30 in the morning, but you can step outside and know you are free. Or you can go to the beach and take in the freedom there. All the overweight people here who are free to eat what they want because of all the freedoms we have. Freedom is what makes this country the great country that it is. And always remember, men and women gave their lives so this country could be free. We know we are blessed because this great land has amber waves of grain. It has spacious skies, and fruited plains that God blessed with his very hand. Even the corn here is free to grow as tall as it can in order to be as free as possible. There are other countries throughout the world that aren't nearly as free as we are here but they pretend to be by telling their people they are free. But here in America, the freedom we have is real and can never be taken from us. Freedom begets freedom and liberty is the cornerstone to that freedom. We must always remember the words of Kris Kristofferson, "Freedomu2018s just another word for nothing left to lose." So my fellow citizens, I use the word freedom with great reverence. Words like democracy, liberty and freedom are very sacred to me, as they are to you. You can't just throw these words around. The word freedom means the democracy we have here is designed to be enjoyed by all and should always be taken as seriously as possible. Non-freedom is just that; non-freedom, where you can't speak about the freedom that we have here. God blessed us with the right to know justice and freedom and that is why I am here today. No, we can't just talk about freedom, we need to fight for the freedom that exists in each and every American. This land is our land so we can be free to support the freedom we vote for in every election, that's how a democracy works. Every man, woman and child is free to know that freedom is having the liberty to stand up for what is right and to be proud of the freedom we have. United we stand and divided we fall. Now is the time to stand together and thank God for the freedom we have here in this great country. God bless America; God bless freedom; God bless all our soldiers killing others so we can be free here. God bless our troops. Laser guided democracy is bringing freedom to those who are not free. Someday, God willing, we will bring the freedom we have here to the entire world whether they like it or not. Just remember how blessed you are here to pay taxes and to be blessed with the freedom God gave us. Freedom is not free nor is liberty and democracy. These are things we hold dear to our hearts so let us not forget 9-11, Pearl Harbor and the Alamo.. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. People gave their lives for the freedom we enjoy today. So let us look to the heavens for divine guidance and let the bells of freedom ring across this great land so blessed with the freedom God gave us. Thank you and God bless you, and America".
Now, you probably realize that he didn't actually give this speech, but he could have and probably will if his poll numbers get much lower. Buzzwords are big in America. Politicians love to spit them out whenever they can. It makes them sound tough, more American. And right now Obama needs to appear tough for the upcoming election. Politicians say what the public likes to hear. The average Joe in America still falls for this stuff. If you keep telling people something, they eventually do believe it. Yeah, this is a free country, but really no more free or less free than most countries around the world. It's true, freedom isn't free. Remember that when you pay your taxes this year. Freedom can be very expensive, a real burden on the pocketbook.
And also remember this speech next time you are stopped 50 miles from the border and asked if you're a citizen or not. And when you are patted down by that surly TSA agent, think of all the freedom you have. I'm sure the cop who sticks his head in your car window at the next DUI stop your forced through will also remind you of how free you are. When you receive that ticket from the red light camera in the mail, remember how people fought and died for your freedom. Freedom is everywhere here in America, just look and you'll see it.
December 19, 2011
John Brennan [send him mail] is a freelance writer living in Mexico and will respond to any comments.
