In a message dated 9/22/2001 5:54:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< When Mr Bush is talking on that topic, he's not only talking to his
electors or Christians or even Theists, he's talking to an armful of
microphones directed to all over the world. The point of my initial post,
that I wanted to share with this cosmopolitan open-minded mailing list is
that, even me, occidental, sharing the same history, beeing raised more or
less in the same judeo-christian base, may not have exactly the same
perpective, feelings with the pronounced words. What about non-occidentals ?
>>
I believe understand what you are saying, and I believe I recognize the value
in you are saying: Our President, as the leader of the international fight on
terrorism, needs to speak for the world, and not just for his own country.
But, for this speech, I disagree.
The message he is sending and the perspective he is taking is that which he
and a majority of Americans believe and can relate to. He's not going to use
French, Japanese and/or Ethiopian metaphors to gear Americans up for battle.
In fact, in the eyes of many of us it would be inapproriate for him to do so.
He needs to stand before us as the leader of the United States and stand and
act like it. He will not win points here by being the "leader of the world."
He won't win points like that in the rest of the world either -- they will
see him trying to be something he isn't.
For my part, it was the first time I'd seen him speak (I've been to two
speeches he's given live, both in Texas, and have heard him speak repeatedly
on TV) that I truly felt he sounded _profoundly_ Presidential.
Jon
