Compassion etcetera

Okay, Bush. You and I both know that I'm no speech analyst, no policy wonk. I'll leave that work to others, and there's no shortage of them this morning. You won't be surprised to hear my inexpert view, however, that your speech last night was long on hot air and short on any significant ideas or information. But I guess that's the nature of the beast, with the State of the Union. I can't hold it against you for making the best of the opportunity to blow your horn.

But here's the one thing I have not seen or heard mentioned: for all your "compassionate, decent, hopeful society" theme, your compassion did not reach far beyond these shores--nor was it particularly evident in any specific policy here at home. I heard some high-sounding words. I did not hear any intention to take action. And out of sixty-six paragraphs (by my rough count), you devoted only two, a bare sixty seconds of your entire speech, to the real and pressing problems of world hunger, disease, and poverty. Even then, you saw the American role as "taking the offensive"--hardly a metaphor that suggests compassion--"because regions overwhelmed by poverty, corruption and despair are sources of terrorism, organized crime, human trafficking and the drug trade."

It seems to me, Bush, that if we are to be perceived by the world as a "compassionate, decent, hopeful society," our President needs to devote proportionately more of his attention to problems other than our wielding power on the world stage and protecting ourselves from those multifarious "evil-doers". It would be refreshing for me personally to hear something other than that old, rather hollow, rather strident "America is strong" rhetoric: perhaps an acknowledgement of a more modest place in a world that it so evidently ailing on so many fronts, of a share in the common responsibility of all peoples to alleviate the suffering of the many and to accept real stewardship of the planet.

Two paragraphs, Bush! One minute! So much for compassion.