America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one

I finally had the chance to view President Bush's Second Inaugural Address, this evening, and I was struck by how familiar it was.

This familiarity was a good thing.  The speech (at least, the foreign policy aspect) was clearly based on a book that I recently read, and one that I know President Bush read in the last few months: Natan Sharansky's The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny & Terror.

Allow me to share just a couple of passages from the Introduction part of Sharansky's book, where he sets forth his overarching thesis (page numbers refer to the hardback edition):

[I]n fighting with the Soviet regime, we dissidents came to appreciate the power of the solidarity of the free world.  We believed that a state's respect for the rights of its own citizens should be the criterion by which to measure that state's intentions.  In the readiness of democratic leaders to link their relations with other states to the extent those states respected human rights, we saw great potential for the development and expansion of freedom across the globe.

p. XIII

[T]he principles that guided me as a dissident in the struggle against tyranny continue to guide me today.  I believe that all people are capable of building a free society.  I believe that all free societies will guarantee security and peace.  And I believe that by linking international policy to building free societies, the free world can once again secure a better future for hundreds of millions of people around the world.

p. XXV.

We must understand the difference between fear societies and free societies, between dictators and democrats.  We must understand the link between democracy and peace and between human rights and security.  Above all, we must bring back moral clarity so that we may draw on the power of free individuals, free nations, and the free world for the enormous challenges ahead.

p. XXVI.

Throughout the book, Sharansky sets forth a very persuasive argument that the appeal of freedom is the greatest weapon held by the free world against tyranny, but this is often hampered by the lack of moral clarity in the free world.  As Sharansky puts it, after he was finally released by his Soviet jailers and was allowed to emigrate to Israel, he came to

understand a critical difference between the world of fear and the world of freedom.  In the former, the primary challenge is finding the inner strength to confront evil.  In the latter, the primary challenge is finding the moral clarity to see evil.

p. XXII.

Bush's inaugural speech was mostly derived from Sharansky's ideas.

We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.

America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one.

This is based directly on Sharansky's central thesis -- that there can never be true peace with leaders of what he calls "fear societies"; that peace can only flow from freedom.  Sharansky uses Israel's experience with Oslo and Arafat's Palestinian Authority as an example of what goes wrong when a free society stakes its security on the cooperation of a dictator in a fear society.  The result is tyranny, oppression, and war without end.

More from the POTUS:

We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation -- the moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.

We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies. Yet, rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty.

This again is a re-phrasing of Sharansky's own words.  First, Bush speaks of the moral clarity of recognizing evil, of noting that we cannot indulge in the liberal assumption that people who live in fear societies might prefer it that way.  He then repeats Sharansky's belief in "the link between democracy and peace and between human rights and security."

One point Sharansky makes about his life as a dissident shines through in this paragraph, as well.  Sharansky relates the story of how he was in the Soviet gulag when word reached him and his fellow inmates of Reagan's "evil empire" speech.  For these jailed dissidents, nothing could have been more hopeful.  Sharansky believes that the Soviet Union's fate was sealed when Reagan began to link U.S. policy toward it with the Soviet government's treatment of its own citizens. 

There's more, but I will leave it to the reader to examine the Sharansky book (which I highly recommend) and compare it to the President's address.  Very interesting.  And very encouraging, too.

Captain Ed shares his thoughts, too.

UPDATE:  This seems relevant. (Link via Powerline).

ANOTHER UPDATE:  This NRO piece recounts the meeting between Sharansky and President Bush, and gives a suggestion of how much Sharansky's book may have influenced Bush's thinking in the immediate aftermath of the election.  Money quote from Sharansky:

"I told the president, 'There is a great difference between politicians and dissidents. Politicians are focused on polls and the press. They are constantly making compromises. But dissidents focus on ideas. They have a message burning inside of them. They would stand up for their convictions no matter what the consequences.'

"I told the president, 'In spite of all the polls warning you that talking about spreading democracy in the Middle East might be a losing issue — despite all the critics and the resistance you faced — you kept talking about the importance of free societies and free elections. You kept explaining that democracy is for everybody. You kept saying that only democracy will truly pave the way to peace and security. You, Mr. President, are a dissident among the leaders of the free world.'"

Comments

[candy]

In excerpts from an interview with Pres. Bush published in the Washington Times 1/2/05 the President says: "If you want a glimpse of how I think about foreign policy read Natan Sharansky's book 'The case for Democracy'...it will help explain a lot of the decisions that you'll see being made...." There is more, sorry I don't know how to link the article, but I found the link on Real Clear Politics.

[candy]

Sorry, the date of the article is 1/12/05.

[claudduval]

1/21/05
Could it be that the dissidents in this country(you know who you are)just don't recognize the President as truly one of their own.

[Tom]

Just met you via Instapundit. When I heard about the Bush Speech two words came to my mind: Natan Sharansky. Great job clarifying the connection to the blogosphere. Long live great men like Natan Sharansky. Long live freedom! Thank God for Ronald Reagan and hopefully GWB.

Tom
A St. Louis Blog Reader

[Mike]

Is it any wonder the Left refuse to acknowledge God in any way and strive so ardently to remove any trace of His existence? They cannot do otherwise since they do not possess the aforementioned moral clarity needed to recognize evil or see it's true nature in the world today or even in themselves. Alas, it is the true nature of evil itself to attack good; the dark hates the light.

[Guy]

My wife and I just finished reading Sharansky's book, The Case For Democracy. We often read to each other and our reading was completed on the day that the people of Iraq embrased democracy.What a thrill to see Sharansky's words come to life before our eyes as the reporters in Iraq recounted this historic day. Sharansky is right...we only pray that Geo. Bush continues to strive for freedom in the Middle East.