By Chip Pitts, KERA 90.1 commentator
Dallas, TX – President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night did a remarkable thing. Instead of a merely negative vision of the war against terror, we heard a more positive vision that transcended the State of our Union. The President envisaged, in his own words, "a just and peaceful world beyond the war on terror."
We're used to Democrats, not Republicans, speaking of human rights. But although the President preferred the words 'justice and freedom,' it amounts to the same thing. Challenging us to serve goals 'larger than self' and extend American compassion abroad, the President stressed the world's need for "values that will bring lasting peace."
What values was he describing? What he called the "non-negotiable demands of human dignity, the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, respect for women, private property, free speech, equal justice and religious tolerance." He spoke of 'freedom from poverty' and the need to enlist the Peace Corps as part of a "a new effort to encourage development, and education and opportunity in the Islamic world." The President emphasized the universality of these values: "No people on earth yearn to be oppressed or aspire to servitude or eagerly await the midnight knock of the secret police."
In a nutshell, the President was giving an excellent summary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Fifty years ago, this Declaration for the first time in history provided a framework of shared values agreed upon by all the world's nations. It is now customary international law. The U.S. does a better job than most states of living up to it in practice. But a true commitment to these values would represent a major and much-needed change in U.S. policy.
Imagine what would happen if we actually took a more balanced approach to the Middle East, diligently used our influence to guide even repressive allies like Russia and Saudi Arabia toward more freedom, and took seriously the major human rights challenges of spreading liberal education and defeating growing poverty and inequality abroad. Such a change would not only whip the carpet out from under the feet of our worst critics abroad; it would shore up our national security at home and our influence in the world.
Can we really expect such a change? Modest steps are probably the best one can hope for. The disputes over civilian casualties abroad and detentions at home indicate how easily rights give way to reasons of state, especially in times of war.
But the President's speech last night gave us a glimpse of the bigger picture: the need for a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. To achieve such a world will take further frequent reinforcement from the top and a translation into action wherever the U.S. acts. Most importantly, we must be more willing to apply policies fairly across the board, and not merely when it is easy or suits our immediate interests.
President Bush's father was said not to be comfortable with 'the vision thing.' His son's speech highlighted the potential for visionary leadership that would not only assure his own role in history, but could reinvigorate America's as well.
Chip Pitts is an international attorney based in Dallas.