Speech by Bush carried timely, important message
AT a conference he hosted last week in New York, former President George W. Bush gave a rousing defense of democracy and spoke of the need for the United States to continue its traditional outward approach to the world. His remarks were on point, and merit attention.
Bush said great democracies face serious threats. “Economic, political and national security challenges proliferate, and they are made worse by the tendency to turn inward,” he said.
That was one of several not-so-subtle allusions to the approach of President Donald Trump, who won election promising to “make America great again” in large measure by rejecting policies, such as expansion of free trade, that have long been backed by presidents of both parties.
Challenges to democratic principles are growing around the world — Bush cited outlaw regimes, the threat of nuclear proliferation, and aggressive challenges from Russia and China.
“These matters would be difficult under any circumstances,” Bush said. “They are further complicated by a trend in Western countries away from global engagement and democratic confidence.”
In the United States, he said, public confidence in institutions has declined, and the American dream seems out of reach to many due to the ever-changing economy. “Discontent deepened and sharpened partisan conflicts,” Bush said. “Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seem more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.”
Public discourse has at times been degraded by “casual cruelty” and “disagreement escalates into dehumanization,” Bush said.
“We’ve seen nationalism distorted into nativism — forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America,” Bush said. He bemoaned a “fading confidence in the value of free markets and international trade.”
Bush said four things are needed to begin encouraging a new push on behalf of economic freedom and free markets — the United States needs to harden its defenses, particularly around cyber threats; it needs to maintain its global role in promoting freedom and free markets; it needs to strengthen democratic citizenship; and major institutions of democracy (public and private) must address the problem of declining trust.
As to bolstering citizenship, Bush said this includes recognizing that people of all races and ethnicities are “fully and equally American.”
“It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed,” he said. “… Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry, and compromises the moral education of children.”
Regarding declining trust, Bush said it’s time “for American institutions to step up and provide cultural and moral leadership for this nation.”
He ended his speech optimistically, saying the spirit of America doesn’t say “We shall manage” or “We shall make the best of it.” Instead, it says “We shall overcome.”
“And that is exactly what we will do, with the help of God and one another,” Bush said.
It’s impossible to know if anything Bush said will make a dent. Regardless, it was a terrific speech with a timely and important message for our country and its leaders.