Solving the Riddle of the 2006 State of the Union Address

At times it looked like a High Catholic Mass with all those well-dressed folk sitting, standing, sitting, standing ad nauseam while the preacher spread the word. That’s as far as the analogy goes, however. There was a lot of colorful content in the President's speech. And, since the audience was wearing colored glasses – a different color for each faction – it’s no surprise that the true colors of the presidents words were not easily discernable.

The truth is carefully hidden. The trick is to find out what color the president’s glasses are. That is not an easy task, because he doesn’t want you to see what he sees. But, it is possible. By watching those whose glasses you can see, and paying attention to how colors mix to create new colors, you can get bits and pieces of the picture from the audience. What you have then, is a box of fragments – like a jigsaw puzzle with no picture on the box.

When you shake the box to view the pieces, a lot of different images come to mind. No matter, it’s part of the game. Just keep shaking the box until one image comes to mind more often that the rest. But remember, you are also wearing colored glasses. You and I and our neighbors, each with different colored glasses, will then try to convince each other that what we see is the true picture. But, is there only one true picture? No. There are several, so what do we do now, argue about which is more true than the rest? That is what usually happens. Let’s try something different.

Let’s imagine that each picture can be etched on a sheet of glass. Then let’s put all the pictures in a pile, line them up, and see if we get a new composite picture, or just a nonsensical blur.

There is a picture of America engaged in a righteous and glorious war against terrorism in Iraq, for which $350 billion well-spent dollars and 2300 soldiers lives have been paid.

There is a picture of America engaged in an imperialist adventure in Iraq, which has wasted 350 billion dollars and destroyed many thousands of innocent lives.

There is a picture of a strong American Economy with high corporate profits and high return on investments.

There is a picture of a failing American Economy with stagnant or falling wages and rising cost of necessities.

There is a picture of a strong American President using the full constitutional power of his office, boldly leading the country to preserve freedom, spread Democracy and protect the homeland.

There is a picture of a President overstepping his authority, taking us to unnecessary war, spreading American corporate interests, and doing little to protect the homeland.

There is a picture of a President urging Congress give him rightly needed new authority to gather intelligence on Americans because some of them might be working for the enemy.

There is a picture of a President already abusing his authority now demanding new power from Congress to spy on his personal enemies and any Americans who might not approve of the direction of his leadership.

There is a picture of a President championing the cause for strong support of Christian values, which are the values of the majority.

There is a picture of a President demanding that the rights of some are trampled for no better reason than ensuring the support of the self-righteous.

There is a picture of an American President working hard to unite the country by providing clear goals which should appeal to everyone.

There is a picture of an American President carefully manipulating his words and the legislation he suggests to create and maintain deep divisions in society.

There is a picture of a President asking Congress for the power of Line-Item-Veto in order to help stamp out pork-barrel-spending.

There is a picture of a President who is demanding Line-Item-Veto power in order to disregard those compromises of hard-working members of Congress that don’t fit his purposes.

There is a picture of a President asking congress to balance the budget by reducing spending for entitlements.

There is a picture of a President asking congress to renege on earlier promises to assist those most in need.

There is a picture of a President asking for tax cuts for the nation.

There is a picture of a President asking for tax cuts for the rich.

When the pictures are finally stacked, one on the other, there is little doubt about the underlying reality. There are two clear and indisputable images which show through all the conflicting visions of right-wrong, good-bad, peace-war, etc. The images are of the movement of money from the poor to the rich, and the movement of power from Congress and the Court to the Presidency. The combined effect of these movements is to concentrate wealth, and to ensure that the voice of the people, acting through Congress or the Court, will soon be too weak to do anything about it.

President Bush’s State of the Union Speech was carefully crafted to present the proposals which keep these processes moving. At the same time the speech was intended to blur our vision with images which played to our emotions of fear, hatred, greed, and self-righteousness. The speech was extremely well written, and President Bush presented it with the skill of a great orator.

The future is now in the hands of those who still have the power to reverse these movements. Only if they have the wisdom to perceive, the desire to act, and the determination to prevail, will we avoid a future in which a very few enjoy the fruits of the labor of a vast majority.

You've heard my answer. Did I solve the riddle or not? The most important question is -- what do you think?