FDR's inaugural address

Franklin Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882. Many people are comparing this time to the New Deal Era, and it's amazing how much of his first inaugural address sounds like it could have been delivered today. There are many parallels to Barack Obama's own inaugural.

Obama spoke frankly that difficult times are ahead that will take effort by the entire nation. Roosevelt said,

This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure, as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.

Yesterday, Obama called it shameful that CEO's accepted billions of dollars in bonuses even after taking the taxpayer bailout and laying off workers. Roosevelt was speaking to those CEO's and about today's failed supply-side, deregulating, conservative economic policies when he said,

Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

True, they have tried. But their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit, they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They only know the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

Yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of that restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit...These dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men.

It's encouraging to hear Obama speak about service and our responsibility to each other. It's a much needed change from the Reagan/Bush philosophy which claims that greed is the highest moral value and the best thing to do in times of national crisis is to go shopping.

The financial crises of the last eight years from Enron to the mortgage collapse are in large part due to unraveling the system of public oversight that was first established under FDR. "Cutting big government red tape" is a nice slogan during an election year but our current economic crisis is the result when it comes from free-market-anarchist ideologues. We've been here before and we've been here for the exact same reasons.

When I read through the last 100 years of American political speeches I'm amazed at how little the fundamental issues have changed. Over time, those who value short-sighted greed over our responsibility to serve others are always judged to be on the wrong side of history.