Frank Wallis writes:

"Freedom, God, and George W. Bush"

Frank Wallis

I keep hearing a familiar refrain from George W. Bush: freedom is from God, not from man.

"Liberty is both the plan of Heaven for humanity, and the best hope for progress here on Earth. The progress of liberty is a powerful trend. Yet, we also know that liberty, if not defended, can be lost. The success of freedom is not determined by some dialectic of history. By definition, the success of freedom rests upon the choices and the courage of free peoples, and upon their willingness to sacrifice. In the trenches of World War I, through a two-front war in the 1940s, the difficult battles of Korea and Vietnam, and in missions of rescue and liberation on nearly every continent, Americans have amply displayed our willingness to sacrifice for liberty." (Speech at the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, 6 Nov. 2003)

One can only witness in wonderment what Bush means by "our willingness to sacrifice for liberty". GIs were sacrificed, but who made the decision to send them to war? Rich people who partied at night while poor men were being blown to bits on the battlefield.It is to be seriously doubted that soldiers fight for freedom. They fight to stay alive and avoid letting their fellows down. Later, the pols tell them they fought well for King and Country, for the Führer, for Allah, or for Freedom. They shed a tear for the fallen, and then go home to party. Meanwhile, the survivors are left to wonder for the rest of their lives what it was all about.

As a true conservative, Bush must include Vietnam as an example of Americans dying for freedom. But this is revolting. The Vietnam adventure was pure filth, based on a lie (the bogus Gulf of Tonkin Resolution). It is hard for cons and veterans to admit that GIs were killed for nothing.

Said Bush in 2003, "More than half of all the Muslims in the world live in freedom under democratically constituted governments." (ibid.) I guess he includes 200 million strong Indonesia which allows Muslim pogroms against Christians. Note the wiggle wording: "democratically constituted", which means there is a fig leaf of technical merit, but as in communist China the meaning of democracy is a tricky thing.

"We know that freedom is the gift of God to all mankind, and we rejoice when others can share it." — George W. Bush (White House news release, "Operation Iraqi Freedom", 12 April 2003)

"...freedom is God's gift to every person in every nation." (Remarks by the President on Operation Iraqi Freedom, Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, Dearborn, Michigan, 28 April 2003)

It's all about doing God's will. America is on a mission from God to bring freedom to Iraq and the rest of the world. Bush is answering his true divine "calling" to liberate people who suffer under tyranny. We have gone from an imminent threat of WMD being launched against us, to al-Queda being in league with Hussein, to bestowing God's freedom on the Iraqis. All lies. First Bush affirms that only God can grant freedom. It is God's gift, not a human right. Then Bush says it is America's mission, ordained by God and captained by Bush, to bring freedom to the world. Does anyone outside the White House notice this contradiction? If freedom is a gift of Jesus, then why does George Bush usurp the role of Jesus and force freedom on Iraq?

Actual references to freedom and liberty in the Bible are scarce. The most relevant passage is in the New Testament book of Galatians. "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians, 5:1, New American Standard version) The King James version of 1622 reads "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Possibly related to John 8:12 "and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (New American Standard version) Also, 2 Corinthians 3:17 "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (New American Standard version) The liberty here is freedom from Mosaic ceremonial law. Paul and Jesus speak of freedom from sin, not political freedom, and certainly not the form of government. Free in Christ Jesus, or enslaved to sin. Freedom under the Gospels, or spiritual slavery under the law of Moses. Freedom from the ritual of circumcision and the Mosaic law (the covenant of bondage). Thus, Bush cannot point to a single line of his Bible and find the word of God supporting his theological casus belli in the Iraq escapade.

For a Christian the gospel of Jesus Christ is the law of liberty from sin and death, while the Mosaic law is that of bondage and death. "But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does." (James, 1:25) This reference to liberty has nothing to do with American democracy.

Also instructive is the Christian order to obey the status quo, as seen in this passage from 1 Peter 2:

2:13 "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,

2:14 "or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right."

2:16 "Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God."

The form of government in the Mediterranean in those days was emperor and governor, not president, congress, and supreme court. Does Bush believe that the best government is the Bible-sanctioned Roman empire?

Freedom in the political context means the right to pursue happiness, as the Founders established in the Constitution. It is the right to act as one sees fit, consistent with responsibility. Freedom is a human idea which takes some effort to attain and keep in the real world of everyday life.

©2004 Frank Wallis.