Looking at Bush's speech through global eyes

The Bush administration has a great impact on not only Americans, but also on citizens of the world. President Bush's State of the Union address on Feb. 2 may have been directed toward United States citizens, but its implications were global. It is important to recognize that the U.S. exerts an influence around the globe through the president's words.\nThe first half of the address, surprisingly, was about domestic issues. Bush's critics will tell you that domestic policy has always been ignored in the past and that this approach to the speech was needed. But the national agenda was a perfect segue into foreign affairs. By subtly bringing up the idea of America's freedom -- from a global perspective -- at regular intervals, he transitioned smoothly into foreign affairs.\nBush assured Americans that they have nothing to fear because his administration has done a great job of handling potential and realized threats. He was sending a message of safety and superiority to all, saying that Americans are free to continue their lives and that attempts to break down the national spirit have failed. But contrasting ideas countered this claim of wanting America to feel no fear.\nBush said that "our country is still a target for terrorists who want to kill many" and that "the terror will stalk America." How can that make American citizens feel safe? Statements like those invoke fear. And how will it affect not only how the world sees us, but how Americans see the world? The world is presented as vast arena of black and white, where there are either bad guys or good guys. U.S. perceptions show a strong theme of believing that if a country doesn't have a democracy, it must be one of the bad guys.\nThe second part of Bush's speech was focused on global concerns (mainly on terror). Any reference to foreign issues served to justify our military occupation in other countries and undermine the impression that the United States is an imperial state pushing for democracy everywhere. Bush rattled off facts on all of the foreign countries that are on our side, like the nine Middle Eastern countries that have caught their own terrorist and the 38 countries who were on the ground in Iraq.\nBush was focusing on the fact that we are not fighting alone, and that we are the forerunners in the pursuit of liberty. Bush said America is adding pages to the "history of liberty." Our "freedom defenders" are simply doing their jobs of restoring liberty and not "imposing our government onto others." It is a "civic responsibility" to vote, and we've made that possible in Iraq. How can this be perceived as a negative?\nDoes the rest of the world believe that we are not pushing our government onto others? Bush answers this question in his own speech. He said that "democracy is the only way to peace," and peace implies everything that is good. Do Americans believe that we are helping the world and actively participating in the civic responsibility we have identified for foreign countries? \nThe president extended his pledge to stand up for liberty by sending a message to the countries of Syria, Lebanon, Iran and North Korea. He told them that we will no longer put up with their harboring of terrorists. It seems difficult to believe that America isn't imposing democracy onto the world when we single out a country and vow to change it.\nUsing peace as his platform, Bush's message was to not fear and to have faith in the liberty we will provide to other nations. From an outsider's point of view, this can be seen as Bush's administration wanting everyone to be like America. The motivations might seem reasonable in the context of the United States, but maybe Americans should analyze his speech in a global context.