A couple of weeks ago, I read on line the inauguration speeches of about 10 US Presidents. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and F.D. Roosevelt gave insightful, honest and concentrated statements of their vision. Other inauguration addresses consisted of swathes of rhetoric, a litany of platitudes, instantly forgettable – sometimes reminding me of the Peter Sellers film “Being There.”
One morning, I made my usual daily pilgrimage to the Barrel coffee shop here in Totnes and wrote over three hours a proposed Inauguration Address for President-elect Obama and posted off to him. The length is 1867 words. Typical length of an Inauguration Address runs between 1600 to 2000 words.
Here is my proposed address for the President for January 20, 2009.
“We need to enter into a fresh discourse where we fearlessly endeavour to uncover the truths of situations.
We live in a world of inter-dependence where climate change, natural disasters, wars, conflict, people, information and goods cross the lines of the nation state. The acts of the individual, the group and the nation impact in small and large ways around the world. Nobody is exempt from all of these influences.
One of the tasks of this Presidency will be to listen to others from all walks of life, articulate their concerns and commit this country to skilful actions to resolve the deep and challenging problems that face us.
We have to explore clearly the infinite possibilities of our human potential to examine events, whether local, national or global. We have to acknowledge the complexity therein, and engage in an encounter that transforms ongoing unresolved matters affecting the quality of our lives.
Evil arises in this world when we grasp onto a tiny handful of concepts and form them into absolute truths and endeavour to impose forcibly these so-called truths upon others through an act of the will.
Ethics and integrity does not restrict itself to the narrowness of such discourse, to such a narrow world view. We need to freely and expansively explore international issues with a sense of shared responsibility. It is my intention to facilitate a discourse for mutual understanding leading to dedicated and appropriate action. Is the United States only going to communicate with those who agree with us?
We unhinge problematic situations, no matter what the scale, through examination of the multiplicity of possibilities and finding the depths of empathy in our common humanity, not through the conception of a preordained view that blinds us to freedom of inquiry.
It is our task to articulate the global, national and local issues and employ our vast reservoir of inner human resources in this country to move our consciousness and our lives in a fresh direction in the light of current scientific and political knowledge. It will require a serious, determined and sustained approach.
We have to examine the condition of capitalism. It is only 76 years ago that President Franklin Roosevelt reminded us in his inauguration address in 1933 of “unscrupulous money changers who stand indicted in the court of public opinion.”
A privileged minority has again woefully abused at a devastating cost our economy affecting countless numbers of people – working people, the poor, the sick, the elderly, those who have worked hard and saved hard, those with mortgages to pay off and leaving many with a huge backlog of unmanageable debts. The livelihoods of numerous employers and employees, whether large or small, have become jeopardised through the obsession with huge mergers and selfish actions of market speculators.
We need a major network of small banks and manageable financial institutions. Taxpayers will not put up with more bailing out the major banks and industries who claim they are “too big to fail.” We need a well regulated and trustworthy financial sector to provide economic stability. We have to ensure there is ongoing accountability throughout our financial services.
I begin this tenure of office not with a healthy economy but with a very heavy backlog of unresolved matters at home and abroad including a nation at war, a mountain of national debt, companies and families on the edge of bankruptcy and growing unemployment. We can resolve this crisis but it will take ethics, sacrifice and total dedication.
The scientific, business, industrial and farming community has generated immense wealth within this country. It has now has a major priority – to contribute to the long term welfare of all citizens and future generations. Our wealth, whether it is the dollar or natural resources, must be used wisely. Do not believe we simply have to weather through this current economic crisis and then return to the old economic boom followed by an even greater crisis in the years ahead.
National and international issues are inseparable. We, as a nation, will play a fully participatory role in tackling climate change, deforestation, CO2 emissions, accelerating energy prices, the possibility in the future for peak oil and pressure on land, water and air. It will be the responsibility of this government to expound a vision that believes in co-operation, renewal and sustainability.
We will embark on this task for the welfare of present and future generations.
We, as a nation, need to engage in a robust dialogue with the leaders of other nations, so that weapons replace war, dialogue replace despair and trust replaces terror. A discourse between democracies and dictatorships must remain high on the international agenda. The loss of a single life of a soldier or citizen in war shows the abject failure of authentic communication.
Leaders of democracies have made severe errors of judgement in foreign policy while the crash of our economies has lead to a domestic crisis. We have to engage in constant self-examination to admit our failures, our inconsistencies and the painful consequences of them, so that we, as a nation, develop and learn from our mistakes.
The new president enters office in one of the most difficult times in our history alongside the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Cold War, the war in Vietnam and the War on Terror.
We will address our relationship with the Arab world, work to find reconciliation and a just solution in the Middle East so Jews and Muslim, Israelis and Palestinians can live in a harmony with each other. The despair in Israel and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza and West Bank must be resolved.
In his celebrated second inauguration speech, Abraham Lincoln reminded us that during the Civil War both sides “pray to the same God and each invokes His aid against the other….the prayers of both could not be answered.” Today, we must remember that the Arab word for God is Allah and three of the great religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, share in the development of the long religious traditions of the Middle East. In his speech, Lincoln concluded: “We pray that the mighty scourge of war may pass speedily away.” We make the same prayer today.
As a nation, we have to ask ourselves whether we have set the accumulation of wealth as the yardstick of success. Have we succumbed to the pursuit of personal status and acquisition of goods as our primary goal? Have we confused the American dream with narrow self interest?
Roosevelt told us to “address ourselves to putting our own national house in order.” We are taking up that same determination. Roosevelt added: “Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”
I believe we need a national debate that addresses every area of our daily of our life to encourage collective participation and responsibility.
This lies at the heart of the American dream. We need to employ traditional American ingenuity so that we engage in real change, not just a modification of the old.
We are challenged to heal the wounds, to work together at home, to employ some of our large labour force to repair, renew and modernise the nation’s infrastructure. The years of neglect are over. We are embarking on change. It will require from all of us a creative effort.
It will require a disparate range of voices, agreement and disagreements, so that fresh truths, fresh visions emerge that signal real change, a turning point, as well as confirming the dynamic and participatory nature of the institution of democracy with an expansion of its forms.
I have invited a wide team of people, all of whom are profoundly knowledgeable in their field, to bring to me their experiences, knowledge and insight to ensure a full understanding of the necessary steps to initiate change.
We need to generate millions of new jobs through massive investment in infrastructure, renewable energy and an alliance of sustainable development between government , industry, agriculture, and unions so that the real economy in the public and private sector plays a central and reliable role in the life of the nation.
We have to address the health of the nation. Most of our European partners have devised a health care system from conception to death that is available to all regardless of financial status. The United States has to develop a health care system accessible to all citizens, regardless of means.
We can applaud the fact that a man of mixed race, born from a teenage pregnancy with a white mother and black father, brought up in Africa and Indonesia and educated in Hawaii, islands subjected in the late 19th century to conquest, can become the President of the United States.
Yet, we cannot over look the millions of US citizens, of any colour and heritage, who lack real opportunity to find a fulfilled way of life. Unemployment, social deprivation, family breakdown, depressing environments, incarceration, poverty, domestic and street violence blights the lives of such US citizens. Individuals must take responsibility for their behaviour yet we have to acknowledge as well the painful history, personal and social, that influence such behaviour. We need an army of women and men to support those in need.
I have spoken regularly of hope during my campaign for the president. Our hope for a wise and compassionate future rests upon the creative disciplines of our citizens. Hope rests on meaningful change. Hope emerges from awareness, discourse and action. Without the movement towards real change, the shadow side of hope will emerge – namely despair. If we have exaggerated hope, taken it out of the context of daily life, then the build up of false hope will dissolve into bitterness, blame and disappointment.
You have elected me to the highest office for the next four years. I will endeavour to bring about a singularity of attention to specific situations, and with the support of the Congress ensure a clear and purposeful line of direction.
We need to question the dogma of intolerance wherever it is located. We need to generate time to meditate on deep values and apply them to our respective circumstances. There has been a widespread loss of trust in the USA in many parts of the world. We have offered generosity and hospitality to the millions who have come to live in this country. Yet there is currently much disillusionment with America from around the world. We have much to share with the world but we also need to listen. We were born with two ears to listen and one mouth to speak. It is also time for listening.
We will not lose our way. Our nation was forged through the quiet determination of men and women from all corners of the earth to come to this country to work together to develop a free and independent life. Let us keep alive this vision. Let us ensure we commit ourselves to the revolutionary ideal of the fulfilment of our human and spiritual aspirations in a supportive environment at home and abroad.”
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