Bush radio address: The Pope, "freedom-loving people," hope, dignity, etc.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050409.html

Many in the West underestimated the Pope's influence. But those behind the Iron Curtain knew better, and ultimately even the Berlin Wall could not withstand the gale force of this Polish Pope.

The Pope held a special affection for America. During his many visits to our country, he spoke of our providential Constitution, the self-evident truths about human dignity enshrined in our Declaration, and the blessings of liberty that followed from them. It is these timeless truths about man, enshrined in our founding, the Pope said, that have led freedom-loving people around the world to look to America with hope and respect. And he challenged America always to live up to its lofty calling. The Pope taught us that the foundation for human freedom is a universal respect for human dignity. On all his travels, John Paul preached that even the least among us bears the image of our Creator, so we must work for a society where the most vulnerable among us have the greatest claim on our protection.

And by his own courageous example in the face of illness and suffering, he showed us the path to a culture of life where the dignity of every human person is respected, and human life at all its stages is revered and treasured.

As the Pope grew physically weaker, his spiritual bond with young people grew stronger. They flocked to him in his final moments, gathering outside his window to pray and sing hymns and light candles. With them, we honor this son of Poland who became the Bishop of Rome, and a hero for the ages.

[whistle]

1. We don't need to listen to George Bush on lessons about...

...what it means to be an American and what we must believe to be free. We democratics have a long legacy of leaders, heros and good people who showed us by example:

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What is an American Speech by Harold Ickes
May 1941

What constitutes an American? Not colour nor race nor religion. Not the pedigree of his family nor the place of his birth. Not the coincidence of his citizenship. Not his social status nor his bank account. Not his trade nor his profession. An American is one who loves justice and believes in the dignity of man. An American is one who will fight for his freedom and that of his neighbour. An American is one who will sacrifice property, ease and security in order that he and his children may retain the rights of free men. An American is one in whose heart is engraved the immortal second sentence of the Declaration of Independence.

Americans have always known how to fight for their rights and their way of life. Americans are not afraid to fight. They fight joyously in a just cause.

We Americans know that freedom, like peace, is indivisible. We cannot retain our liberty if three-fourths of the world is enslaved. Brutality, injustice and slavery, if practiced as dictators would have them, universally and systematically, in the long run would destroy us as surely as a fire raging in our nearby neighbour's house would burn ours if we didn't help to put out his.

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<link> http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/Harold_Ickes/



<snip>
Harold LeClaire Ickes (1874-1952)

Harold Ickes was born in Franklin Township, Pennsylvania, on March 15, 1874. He attended the University of Chicago, from which he received both a B.A. (1897) and an LL.D. (1907). After finishing law school, Ickes practiced in Chicago, where he also served as a Republican committeeman. A liberal, Ickes campaigned for Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive party in 1912 and for the presidential campaigns of progressive Republicans Charles Evans Hughes (1916) and Hiram Johnson (1920). By 1932, Ickes no longer supported Herbert Hoover and headed a committee of liberal Republicans who supported FDR. FDR rewarded his work by appointing him secretary of the interior in 1933.

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<link> http://www.nps.gov/elro/glossary/ickes-harold.htm