The Speech That Made Our Hair Stand On End

The full text of George W. Bush's second inaugural speech may be read in its entirety here. If you didn't hear it live, give it a read. Then if you would, please come back here and explain to me why I feel so uneasy...

I must admit, this one made my hair stand on end. I'm not the only one. Not long after the ceremonies were over, I got an email from an equally baffled family member. Her candid thoughts:

To remove tyranny from the world is rather a large agenda....After all it's been here longer than America has....It's a wonderful thought but why does it make the hair stand up on the back of my neck??? Am I missing something here?

If she is, then I am too, because I was just as wigged-out by it. Why? I really don't know. Something in my gut has a terrible feeling, similar to the feeling I had two years ago that they weren't going to find WMDs in Iraq and we were going to end up with egg all over our faces. It's that same awful foreboding I had watching Colin Powell at the UN, rattling that little symbolic vial. His mouth said one thing, his eyes seemed to say something else. But maybe I imagined that?

I'm sure the nations of the world are going to have a field day with this one, and I almost dread to read the worldwide reaction.

Do I want freedom for all peoples? More than anyone save God can know. Who doesn't want that but the tyrants themselves? Do I want my country to do what it can to promote freedom and democracy throughout the world? Absolutely. But why do I have this terrible sinking feeling we just called out a bunch of nations to a fight? And why does that have me feeling so, well, nervous?

Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis I hope knows by now that I love my country and its people with all my heart. There is no place else I would rather live, or that I could imagine living. My citizenship came to mean even more to me after traveling to other parts of the world. I know the blessings of liberty, and I pray they would be available to all souls. I have family who have served with distinction in the military, and I am forever humbled by and grateful for all that they did. They make me very proud of who we are and what we stand for.

So why am I still struggling with this darned speech? Can anyone else put a finger on it for me? I'd much appreciate it...