The State of the Union address should do exactly that. Tell all of the 330+ million Americans what the condition is of their United States. Instead, what the American people were presented with was a speech from Biden that was directed at millionaires and billionaires, citizens of other countries and the lobbyist that direct the politicians sitting in front of him. Let’s take a closer look.
War
Biden started off by framing the war in Ukraine as an assault on the U.S. He said it was a threat to ‘freedom and democracy’ that is ‘unprecedented.’ He justified the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine as a requirement linked to the US ‘leadership in the world’ while at the same time assuring the people that no American soldiers were in Ukraine to fight. This administration has justified their military support by claiming that Putin is ‘on the march’ and won’t ‘stop at Ukraine’ but will continue the war into Europe. Ever since the Ukraine-Russia war started, Biden and his administration have had their own ‘march’ into battle with boundaries set and broken all along the way. Let’s recap the flip-flopping from the Biden Administration regarding the Ukraine war and consider who truly profits from these conflicts.
Flip-Flopping
In January of 2023 the US was ‘refusing to provide warplanes’ to Ukraine. By May of 2023 not only was the US allowing F-16’s to go to Ukraine, but US troops would also train the Ukraine pilots on the warplanes. Similarly, in January of 2023 the US flipped its previous ‘hard stance’ against providing tanks and announced Abram tanks would be sent to Ukraine. In April of 2023 the Pentagon acknowledged that arming Ukraine was ‘the largest authorized transfer of arms in history from the U.S. military to a foreign nation‘ which has continued to this day. Even greater than the lend-lease program in WWII?!
But that wasn’t all. Starting in July the US supplied cluster bombs, a weapon more than two-thirds of NATO countries have banned because of the associated high civilian deaths. In April, a leaked document confirmed that ‘special forces’ from the US, UK, France and Latvia were on the ground in Ukraine. This is a direct contradiction to the statement Biden just made in his SOTU speech that ‘no American soldiers were in Ukraine to fight.’
War Profits
So far, the U.S. has sent the equivalent of at least $75 Billion in aid to Ukraine. At least $45 Billion is related to the military. Biden has claimed the war-funding is a way to boost the US economy because some of those funds circle right back around into the pockets of the US weapons manufacturers. As the General Dynamics Chief Financial Office said in October,
“We’ve gone from 14,000 (artillery) rounds per month to 20,000 very quickly. We’re working ahead of schedule to accelerate that production capacity up to 85,000, even as high as 100,000 rounds per month,… And I think the Israel situation is only going to put upward pressure on that demand.”
Jason Aiken, General Dynamics’ chief financial officer, October 2023
2023 was a record year for arms trade with the US transferring over $80 Billion in military equipment and services. As this article points out, the ‘one clear winner’ in the Ukraine-Russia war is the US arms industry.
When Biden starts his SOTU speech addressing the need to continue supplying weapons, who is he talking to? He’s not talking to most Americans, but he is talking to the CEO’s in the defense industry.
‘There is no other path’
Biden began and ended his speech promoting war. Think about that. A speech on the state of the United States is book-ended with American taxpayers supporting two wars oversees. He summed up the Israel-Hamas conflict and the US military support by saying several times that ‘there is no other path’ to security, democracy and peace. He is speaking about peace while doing the exact opposite. God’s Word says there are those who do not know the way to peace, and Biden’s government is surely fulfilling that role.
“Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goes therein shall not know peace.”
Isaiah 59:7-8
“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just/righteous is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.”
Proverbs 4:14-19
Health Choices & Mandates
Biden addressed recent changes to laws in ‘red’ states that ban access to abortions. He said, ‘there are state laws banning the right to choose, criminalizing doctors…’ yet he did the very same thing when it came to the COVID vaccine. He implemented a mandate that military personnel get vaccinated and many companies followed suit. Many American adults did not have a ‘right to choose’ while staying employed. Doctors who spoke out against the vaccine were criminalized with many loosing their jobs. Should a government, state or federal, be involved in decisions regarding healthcare? Shouldn’t all medical decisions be made between the patient and their doctor.
American ‘Comeback’ Story
According to Biden ‘our economy is the envy of the world’, but that puts money as the metric by which the ‘state of the union’ is measured. What does that even mean, ‘the envy of the world?’ He took credit for the addition of 15 million jobs, but these results are related to re-hiring after the government-mandated shutdowns during the COVID pandemic. Biden took credit for decreased inflation while acknowledging ‘shrinkflation‘ as being on the rise. For American families, it doesn’t matter what name you put on it, products cost more but you’re getting less. The US national debt is more than twice the country with the next highest debt. Why would the world be envious of such a debt ridden economy?
The Stalled State of the Union
Biden spent a majority of his speech listing things he would like to do which makes one wonder, what has he been doing for the past 40-plus years in government. Similar to last year when he used the phrase ‘Were just getting started,’ he pitched a laundry list of goals. But that did more to make one question, ‘what has Biden been doing’ for the past few decades?
For examples, Biden said I ‘want to’ or it’s ‘time to’ over 15 times. Amazingly, many of those wish list topics he spoke of last year as well. For example he wants to give public schoolteachers a raise, restore the Child Tax Credit and implement a billionaire minimum tax. You can go back and watch last year’s SOTU address and it will sound VERY similar to this years SOTU address. Here are a few short clips to give you a sample of the repetitiveness.
Imagine
Biden ended his speech by encouraging people to ‘Imagine’ what the profits from a billionaires tax could be used for. He suggested it could go towards affordable child care, paid leave to care for a sick family member or home care for seniors or people with disabilities. He pegged the profits at $500 Billion over 10 years which would equate to $50 Billion a year. Interesting, he could raise the same amount by putting a halt to funding wars oversees. But Americans don’t want to ‘imagine’ neither do they want their leaders to ‘imagine.’ American families are living in reality and it’s about time their leaders do the same. With the proposed tax increases on millionaires and billionaires, there was no mention of lowering taxes for everyone else. Now that would actually make a difference to working class taxpayers.
A Double-Minded Man
In summary, Biden spoke out of both sides of his mouth during the State of the Union Address. He spoke of war as the means for achieving peace. Biden spoke against laws put in place regarding health choices, after having done the exact same thing. He spoke of a booming economy. Meanwhile, Americans are dipping into savings and 401(k)’s while also increasing credit card debt which just reached a record high.
Speaking of debt, Biden failed to mention one spot where America truly is #1. The national debt just passed $34 Trillion dollars and is increasing by $1 Trillion every 100 days! Talk about unprecedented!
He neglected to even mention the 500,000+ homeless people living on the streets or in their cars across America. Biden barley mentioned the drug overdose epidemic which took the lives of over 100,000 Americans in 2023. He failed to address the U.S. poverty rate of 11.5%. That number represents almost 38 million people (on par with the population of Ukraine) who are living below the poverty threshold. Imagine if the $75 Billion spent on Ukraine instead helped the homeless and poor living in our very own country. Of course, the corporate profits to be made from supporting these groups doesn’t even compare to the profits made when selling weapons.
“A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:8
Put on Reality
Biden is missing even just a little dose of reality. Instead of speaking to the corporations that profit off of American policies, he should speak to the American people. The reality Americans are living in is much different than the ‘State of the Union’ presented by Biden.
So, what should you do? Protests? No. Run for office? No. You should put on reality, righteousness, truth and the Word of God.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might/strength. Put on the whole armor of God, that you will be able to stand against the wiles/subtle deceits/craftiness of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities/rulers, against powers/authorities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth/reality, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith/Truth, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God:”
Ephesians 6:10-17