The State of the Union: My Impressions

As I am in the United States at the moment, I was able to watch ‘The State of the Union Address’ live on television. Watching such a speech live always seems to add that certain something, that certain je ne sais quoi to the proceedings. Alas, to this State of the Union Address, it added little or nothing, since it was a big yawn! We have heard it all before!

For a start, President Bush is no orator. He has not mastered that art. Because of this, he is less than inspiring to listen to. Those sitting before him, watching him and listening to his every word, applauded and applauded in the right places, of course, just as you would expect them to do. However, there was something empty about this speech, for it didn’t address the major problem facing the United States, nay, facing the Western world in its entirety: Islam!

He skirted around our problem with Islam very carefully; but his doing so detracted from the importance of his message. It left me asking myself questions. Questions such as: Does this President really understand the problem we face with Islam? Or is he still hung up on fighting terrorism? Does he still believe his own words that Islam is a religion of love? Does he really still believe that OBL and his ilk have hijacked a noble faith? Is this man just ignorant of the true message of Islam, or is he afraid to take on Islam? Is he afraid to confront it?

Furthermore: Does he understand the true significance of the jihad? In the Address he said: ”Their aim is to seize power in Iraq, and use it as a safe haven to launch attacks against America and the world. Lacking the military strength to challenge us directly, the terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear. This is only a half truth. The aim of jihad is much broader than this. And even the President’s so-called friends and allies from Saudi Arabia are engaged in it: They are buying up our businesses, they are building mosques and Islamic schools propagation centres for Islam right, left and centre. This is all part and parcel of the Islamic holy war on the West, all part and parcel of the jihad. All this is going on unabated. Nobody is trying to stop it. Indeed, the President seems to be oblivious to it all.

Then he spoke of the Americans’ love of, and addiction to, oil. At last, I thought to myself, at last this man is going to have the courage to do something about the Americans’ consumption of oil and thereby take the oriental carpet from under the feet of the Muslim world, from under the feet of the Gulf Arabs. My spirits were raised. The man, I thought to myself, is going to make a brave move at last. But then I heard him add that he has set a national goal of replacing more than 75% of America's oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. 2025, mark you! What good does he think this will do? By 2025, Middle Eastern oil will have bought up the West, and Islam will have become the dominant religion here in America and there in Europe. Indeed, the Eurabianization of Europe will be all but complete by then. All this, of course, if we haven’t been annihilated in World War III beforehand!

I don’t wish to go into any more detail about this address, for I found it truly uninspiring, and less than convincing. This President can’t even take control of the southern border! What hope have we got that he will vanquish Islam? And anyway: Why all the agonizing about the US-Mexican border? I can think of a very simple solution to that. It would be a tad Draconian, I have to admit. But it would be effective, and nobody would get hurt because the Mexicans would be too afraid to cross the border in the first place!

If the United States of America wishes to retain its prime place in the world, then I’m afraid that it will have to do better than this. China is coming up, and quickly. As we know, Islam is in the ascendancy, too. The jihad continues unabated. And all we get from the President are sweet words about how great the American people are. The Americans are a great people. He’ll have no argument from me on that score. But he should remember that fine words butter no parsnips. Leadership doesn’t mean that things are so simply because they are stated and spoken of; they have to be followed through on. Tough decisions have to be made. As Mrs. Thatcher always used to say: It’s the tough decisions which are the best ones. In my opinion, Bush’s decisions are not tough enough. He would do well to remember the sage words of Theodore Roosevelt, an African proverb of which he was very fond: "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far!"

©Mark Alexander