Friday, September 16, 2005

The Speech We Should Have Heard

Normally Scott Ott at Scrappleface offers biting satire of current news events. Today he posted a speech I wish I had heard President Bush give last night as it is exactly what people need to hear. A brief sample:

"But as reconstruction begins, rest assured that we're not merely going to re-establish the conditions that led to such deep pockets of poverty in the midst of affluence. We're not going to continue the enslavement of the poor at the hands of seemingly-benevolent politicians who fail to understand the power of faith, freedom and personal responsibility to build vibrant communities on a foundation of strong families."

"In the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it's time to "let freedom ring." It's time to let this area of the south rise up and live out the true meaning of our creed."

"When Dr. King gave his most famous speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial he said the founders of this nation signed "a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the 'unalienable Rights' of 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness'."

"Dr. King said the civil rights movement was an effort to 'cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice'."

"But today, Dr. King's dream remains unfulfilled for many in the richest land the world has ever seen, because government has substituted one bad check for another. We have replaced the promissory note of freedom and justice, with the public assistance check. The problem is that this new check actually does provide something...a little money. But that government money is counterfeit. It's a cheap replica of a paycheck. It fills the belly, but empties the soul. It buys things, but only in exchange for life, liberty and happiness."



Read the whole thing.

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