My Fellow Citizens – and so it begins






On January 20, 2009 Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.  Following the swearing in ceremony President Obama began his inaugural address with the phrase “My fellow citizens”.  Hearing this words was like hearing chalk scratching a blackboard.  Every President in my lifetime has always used the phrase “my fellow Americans”, and I do believe Obama had a reason for not using this phrase.  He intended his address toward a wider audience – the citizens of the world.



President Obama is the first American President ever whose brothers, sister, aunts, uncles, and grandmother are not citizens of the United States.  They are citizens of Kenya.  Nobody reporting on the inauguration of President Obama bothers to point out this first based on nationality of blood relatives.  Instead of nationality they focus on race, and they ignore a very important fact about race.  They ignore how it was the American side of Barack’s parents who cared for him, raised and nurtured him, and gave him the opportunity to one day become President of the United States.  These were white Americans who did the right thing.  The African side of Barack’s parents abandoned him as a baby.  This was a black African.  This fact especially made Rev. Lowry’s prayer to God that the whites will do right especially offensive to me.



After beginning with  “my fellow citizens”  President Obama  obliquely spoke to his wider audience about his assessment of the situation what he wants to see done.


Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age…each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.





I disagree that the blame lies with greedy irresponsible capitalists for our weakened economy.  The blame lies with politicians in Congress who interfered in the market by picking out “too big to fail” government sponsored entities.  I also disagree that our use of energy threatens our planet.  Pres. Obama is telling his wider office that his administration will meddle more with the market and coerce US citizens to use less energy.


The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.





Mr. President, you did not include the first and most important God-given right to life written into the Declaration of independence.


We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.





Soil-powered factories???  WTF?  Mr. President, you did not include coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear energy that are currently providing our country with 99% of the fuel for our cars and our factories.


…this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.





I disagree that markets spin out of control.  Markets will punish folks who get too greedy and take too many risks, and it will reward folks who best provide a good or a service to their customers.  Things begin to spin out of control when the government meddles with the market and tries to pick and choose folks as too big to fail.


And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect.





Speaking to his wider audience of fellow citizens Pres. Obam is telling them that his administration is going to make the US behave by not being so productive that it consumes so much of the world’s resources.  I strongly oppose Pres. Obama’s vision of remaking a new United States of America, and I hope that he fails to get what he wants done.



I disagree with the meme that it is just wrong for anyone to hope that our US President fails because this meme does not define what success is.  As with every President in my lifetime I hope that President Obama will succeed in fulfilling his oath to “faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  I would especially like for the President  to preserve, protect and defend the 10th amendment –

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.


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GC HIGHLY RECOMMENDS - MUST READ, especially

Mike gamecock DeVine (Diary) Wednesday, January 21st at 9:37PM EST (link)

That Obama’s salutation does not specifically address Americans as their President, as pilgrim identified.

Citizens?

Hell, everyone is a citizen except those without a country, right? Was Obama excluding those held at Gitmo?

And pilgrim hits the nail on the head again with this blame game Congress plays with their show trials that casts CEOs as villains. Will liberal dems ever be held accountable?

I am making it my mission to so. I am working now on a column about how everyone is all over BOA’s CEO when the Paulson feds made them go thru with the Merrill Lynch buy out.

But let me ask one question Pil’:

Could the “citizen” salutation also be related to France’s revolution either directly or tangentially? I could be way off base.

Awesome post and welcome back.

Mike DeVine’s Examiner.com, Charlotte Observer and The Minority Report columns
“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson

I did think of the French Revolution on another comment

pilgrim (Diary) Wednesday, January 21st at 10:10PM EST (link)

When he left out the God-given right to life written in our US Declaration of Independence I thought of the 3 words of the French Revolution – brotherhood, liberty, and equality.


Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots

 
 

GC HIGHLY RECOMMENDS - MUST READ, especially

Mike gamecock DeVine (Diary) Wednesday, January 21st at 9:37PM EST (link)

That Obama’s salutation does not specifically address Americans as their President, as pilgrim identified.

Citizens?

Hell, everyone is a citizen except those without a country, right? Was Obama excluding those held at Gitmo?

And pilgrim hits the nail on the head again with this blame game Congress plays with their show trials that casts CEOs as villains. Will liberal dems ever be held accountable?

I am making it my mission to so. I am working now on a column about how everyone is all over BOA’s CEO when the Paulson feds made them go thru with the Merrill Lynch buy out.

But let me ask one question Pil’:

Could the “citizen” salutation also be related to France’s revolution either directly or tangentially? I could be way off base.

Awesome post and welcome back.

Mike DeVine’s Examiner.com, Charlotte Observer and The Minority Report columns
“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson

 

Outstanding, Pilgrim

olsmithie (Diary) Wednesday, January 21st at 9:53PM EST (link)

I too have to wonder about the critics who say it is wrong to hope that the Socialist (dare I say Marxist?) plans of this President do not succeed.

For his plans to succeed, the American way of life must end.

I can only think that these critics, like their leader, are living in a delusional world, a state of denial refusing to accept the meaning of the words plainly paraded before them daily by their leader.

Regards

“De Nile is ain’t just a river in Egypt”- Dr. Laura

 

Let's burst the bubble . . . sorry :-(

Steve W (Diary) Thursday, January 22nd at 2:06PM EST (link)

Every President HAS NOT used ‘my fellow Americans’. In fact, as shown below, it is not the custom at all. Pilgrim, I don’t know how old you are but since after Eisenhower just about every President (with two exceptions) has used the word ‘Citizens’ in his introduction.
Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Second Inaugural Address

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Speaker, members of my family and friends, my countrymen, and the friends of my country, wherever they may be,

John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s Inaugural Address

Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, Reverend Clergy, fellow citizens:

Lyndon B. Johnson’s Inaugural Address

My fellow countrymen,

Richard M. Nixon’s First Inaugural Address

Senator Dirksen, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice President, President Johnson, Vice President Humphrey, my fellow Americans–and my fellow citizens of the world community:

Richard M. Nixon’s Second Inaugural Address

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Senator Cook, Mrs. Eisenhower, and my fellow citizens of this great and good country we share together:

Jimmy Carter did not have an introduction in his address.
Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address

Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O’Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens:

Ronald Reagan’s Second Inaugural Address

Senator Mathias, Chief Justice Burger, Vice President Bush, Speaker O’Neill, Senator Dole, Reverend Clergy, members of my family and friends, and my fellow citizens:

George H. W. Bush’s Inaugural Address

Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Quayle, Senator Mitchell, Speaker Wright, Senator Dole, Congressman Michel, and fellow citizens, neighbors, and friends:

William Jefferson Clinton’s First Inaugural Address

My fellow citizens :

William Jefferson Clinton’s Second Inaugural Address

My fellow citizens :

George Walker Bush’s First Inaugural Address

President Clinton, distinguished guests and my fellow citizens:

George Walker Bush’s Second Inaugural Address

Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President Bush, President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow citizens:

Yes, there were many items in PO’s speech that I found unsettling and downright false – but, this has been the accustomed method of addressing the US populace since the 50′s.

If we are going to hold the Dem’s accountable – we also need to be accountable for the information we put out – and make sure that it is correct.

The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.
- Ronald Reagan

the bubble is NOT burst

pilgrim (Diary) Thursday, January 22nd at 3:05PM EST (link)

I am old enough to remember Presidential Inauguration addresses since JFK, and I remember hearing the phrase “my fellow americans” in these addresses. You made me go online to Bartleby.com to check myself. LBJ did use the phrase “my fellow countrymen” instead of my fellow Americans, but meaning is the same. Jimmy Carter is the only other President who like Obama never uttered the phrase fellow Americans or fellow countrymen. Although Gerald Ford gave an swearing in speech as opposed to an inauguration speech after the Nixon resignation he did use the phrase “my fellow Americans”.

Words used in speeches like this are never an accident. So we disagree about the importance of Presidents Carter and Obama not saying my fellow Americans, but it does not burst any bubble or disprove anything that I have written.


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Sure it does. . .

Steve W (Diary) Thursday, January 22nd at 3:16PM EST (link)

I gave the links to the speeches, and included the EXACT words of their introductions. . . so, for inaugural addresses I HAVE burst the bubble.

I’m not going to say that for OTHER speeches they have not used the phrase ‘My Fellow Americans.’

The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.
- Ronald Reagan

No it does not. Let me make myself clear

pilgrim (Diary) Thursday, January 22nd at 3:30PM EST (link)

I am referring to the entire text of the inaugural speech. JFK, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush have the EXACT phrase fellow Americans in their speech somewhere. LBJ has the phrase fellow countrymen. Carter, Bush 41, and Obama do not have the phrase anywhere in the ENTIRE text. If you do not believe me then you can go to Bartleby,com and read it for yourself.

I misremembered Bush 41 from a speech he gave to a joint session of Congress following the first Iraq War when he said -

“The Gulf war put this new world to its first test. And my fellow Americans, we passed that test. “


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Not busting your chops

Steve W (Diary) Thursday, January 22nd at 3:55PM EST (link)

I agree with the sentiment of your post – firstly – well done!

When you said,

Following the swearing in ceremony President Obama began his inaugural address with the phrase “My fellow citizens”. Hearing this words was like hearing chalk scratching a blackboard. Every President in my lifetime has always used the phrase “my fellow Americans”, and I do believe Obama had a reason for not using this phrase.

I took your meaning (since you said began his inaugural address) that that is what you were commenting on – your context – which is what I was responding to.

I just was setting the record straight – based on what I believed your context was. I will concede, and can remember, several presidents – most especially Ronald Reagan using the phrase “My Fellow Americans” over and over.

In the previous context, however, NO president has used ‘Americans’ in their introduction.

So, now that we have that straight – and I’ve agreed with your restated context – I’d like to say that I concur that I also believe that PBO has a different reason for the phrase than did many of his predecessors. In fact, I believe that although Republicans and Democrats tend to use the same words – they have very different meanings to each.

The Democrats are, to borrow from Chesterton “Spiritual Barbarians

because he is not bound by his own past, any more than a man in a dream. He avows that when he promised to respect a frontier on Monday, he did not foresee what he calls “the necessity” of not respecting it on Tuesday. In short, he is like a child, who at the end of all reasonable explanations and reminders of admitted arrangements, has no answer except, “But I want to.”

The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.
- Ronald Reagan

Thank you for the discussion

pilgrim (Diary) Thursday, January 22nd at 4:20PM EST (link)

A lot of times when I write something I need to clarify my point. While I understand what I’m saying the reader may not. Perhaps Carter and Obama were similar in their ideas of addressing a wider audience. Some way some how we managed to survive the Carter years.


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