On the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, President George W. Bush delivered a poignant, seemingly patriotic speech at the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. He accurately described the horror of that fateful day, candidly explained the evil launched against us, rightly praised the courage and selflessness of the first responders who heroically answered the myriad distress calls that day amid untold carnage, and honored all the average Americans who took up arms to defend our great nation in the aftermath of the worst attack on American soil.

Overall, it was a pretty good speech, but there were a couple of parts that quickly became extremely controversial and should give every American pause. Who was Bush talking about here:

And we have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders, but from violence that gathers within. There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit. And it is our continuing duty to confront them.

When this excerpt stands alone, it sounds like Bush is referring precisely to ANTIFA and BLM. They both have no patience for “pluralism,” have proved utter disregard for human life in numerous riots, and are absolutely determined to defile our national symbols. ANTIFA and BLM are both tainted with the foul spirit of intolerance and totalitarianism. If that’s what Bush meant, most Americans heartily agree. But in complete context, Bush was comparing the 9/11 terrorists to the 6 January protesters!

Spending like a Democrat and growing government like a leftist, President Bush was not particularly conservative and his tenure was generally disappointing, but at least we considered him a decent man who loved America. But while it sounds like Bush has regard for Americans, he apparently has no respect for average Americans because he does not understand us.

Another line from his remarks illustrates his and the rest of the ruling elite’s misunderstanding of the American people. He said: "At a time when nativism could have stirred hatred and violence against people perceived as outsiders, I saw Americans reaffirm their welcome of immigrants and refugees."

Whoa! Bush repeated the leftist lie to malign patriotism as "nativism." Sometimes also called nationalism, nativism means the native people or citizens of a country are opposed to immigrants. America is a nation of immigrants built by immigrants; and average Americans and legal immigrants cherish the ideals of freedom enshrined in our Constitution. But leftists want to smear our devotion to our principles of liberty as bigotry.

Whenever Americans demand our Constitution be upheld, the Democrat Media Complex howls racism, as if minorities don’t support the Constitution. Whenever Americans insist our individual rights are inviolate and liberty is essential, leftists scream nationalism and scold us that our ideals are not intrinsically true. The truth is, our uniquely American concept of God-given freedom is indeed superior to every other ideology on the planet! The big lie is that our republic is inherently racist and that our Constitution is at best equal to others — it is not! But leftists cannot let a strong, independent America stand because such a free, truly sovereign nation will never accept globalism.

Sadly, Bush confirmed what we suspected: he is just another elitist who believes average Americans are misguided rubes who think their individual rights are "unalienable." Republican globalists think Americans work hard and fight hard, but are simply unsophisticated in the ways of the world. So the ruling elite know better and must decide for us. Both establishment Democrats and establishment Republicans sincerely believe average Americans cannot survive without government control and intervention, so they usurp power, comforting themselves they are doing what’s best for the poor, silly, liberty-loving Americans.

George W. Bush is wrong, but George Wallace was right. Despite his repugnant views on race, Wallace was right when he said during his 1968 campaign for president that “there’s not a dime’s worth of difference” between Democrat Hubert Humphrey and Republican Richard Nixon.

Bush revealed his true colors in Shanksville, but he also exposed the disconcerting reality that regardless of party, the ruling elite have foisted on the American people Democrat and Republican presidents who have been merely two sides of the same globalist coin. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but with the exceptions of Presidents Reagan and Trump, the American people haven't really had any clear choices. We've been pawns in rarefied power politics to install one elitist president after another to inexorably usher the USA into globalism.

Bush let the truth slip — but Joe Biden has become increasingly transparent in his contempt for the Constitution and his disdain for average, liberty-loving Americans. Bush gave us the DHS and TSA to restrict our individual rights, but under Biden, the totalitarian designs of the federal government and establishment politicians of both parties have been laid bare. Since Reagan, Trump has been our only champion, but now it falls to We The People to assert our rights and defend our freedoms. We must heed President Lincoln’s words at Gettysburg — that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

“Where is your king, that he may save you? Where are your rulers in all your towns, of whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’?" (Hosea 13:10).

Pete Riehm is the host of Common Sense Radio heard 8 pm every Thursday on FMTalk106.5 or streaming at fmtalk1065.com. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or on MEWE @PeteRiehm or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.kraien