Bush Defines the Fight for Freedom

In today's speech by President Bush (previous post) we heard an impassioned defence of the war on terror and the justification for the US struggle in Iraq. The president used strong words comparing the terrorists to Nazis and Communists. More importantly he defined the ideological battle that the world faces:

The war we fight today is more than a military conflict; it is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century. On one side are those who believe in the values of freedom and moderation -- the right of all people to speak, and worship, and live in liberty. And on the other side are those driven by the values of tyranny and extremism -- the right of a self-appointed few to impose their fanatical views on all the rest.

This war is about the fight for freedom, properly defined as, "the right of all people to speak, and worship, and live in liberty." I believe this may be where the true battle lies, to convince Americans and other free people that freedom is still worth fighting for. Imagine a world where simply professing your faith is a cause for summary execution, now remember that world is only a few thousand miles away.

Unfortunately the concept of freedom itself has been hijacked. Thanks to activist courts and organizations like the ACLU (alternate link), freedom is now often associated with a sustained fight against any religious references in the public sphere, defending terrorists and supporting irrational rights such access to some of the most vile pornography imaginable.

We must first remember what freedom is and why it's essential to be free. We must also remember that the most basic freedom is the freedom to practice your faith and to share it publicly. Then it will be clear how important it is to resist the terrorists who seek to take away that essential freedom and kill as many of us as possible along the way.