Reading time: 2,310 words, 5 to 9 minutes.

Occasionally I read an article so well-written that I wouldn’t dare try to summarize it so I’ll reprint it in its entirety – with attribution, of course. The article below is by one of my favorite commentators,
Gary North.

Gerold
January 22, 2013

Obama’s Second Inaugural Address: An Unofficial Translation

Gary North – January 22, 2013

Barack Obama, who did not close Guantanamo, prosecute corrupt bankers, or get American troops out of Afghanistan, delivered his second inaugural yesterday.

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 me.”

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 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 do 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.”

Translation: “Uncle Sugar is alive and well. Get out your wallets.”

“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.”

Translation: “Forget about the fact that world temperatures have not changed in a decade and a half. Who are you going to trust: me or the evidence? Coal, oil, and nuclear energy? Nonsense. The government will subsidize more Solyndras. It will subsidize wind farms. It will promote those sectors of the power industry that produce 3% of the power.”

“We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully — not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice — not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.”

Translation: “The American Empire is alive and well. The military-industrial complex will do well for the next four years, just as it has over the last four years.”

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.”

Translation: “Don’t panic. Stonewall refers to the homosexual riots in New York City in 1969. It does not refer to Stonewall Jackson. It was just a code word that 99% of Americans didn’t get and were not supposed to get.”

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm”.

Translation: “Gay immigrants who are fleeing global warming and will vote for gun control are welcome here. They will help me to get Boehner to Buckle.”

“That is our generation’s task — to make these words, these rights, these values — of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness — real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time — but it does require us to act in our time.”

Translation: “I have big plans. I do not intend to let the Constitution stand in my way.”

“For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, we must act knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.”

Translation: “I have really big plans. I do not intend to let the Constitution stand in my way.”

“My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction — and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.
They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.”

“You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.

“You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time — not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.

“Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.”

Translation: “Warren G. Harding. He spoke for me!”

“Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.”

Translation: “See? I am not really a disciple of Rev. Wright.”

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