President Bush’s second inaugural address was inspiring. He affirmed some of the principles that make our country great, from our love of democracy to the right to dissent. Although the speech was at times abstract and filled with many generalities, there were enough specifics to see how dedicated to this reasoning Bush truly is. We now have before us at least two events that seem tailor-made to test the United States’ resolve.

Nepal is a country that calls out for assistance in achieving democracy. In 1990, a multi-party democracy was established for the first time in the country. A Maoist insurgency, started in 1996, led to the dissolution of parliament in 2002, missed elections and the eventual sacking of the cabinet by the king. That same king reinstated most of the government last year, and elections were scheduled for this spring. Emphasis on “were” — the king has now abolished the government, suspended civil rights and banned dissent.

After Sept. 11, U.S. aid to Nepal rose by more than 10,000 percent to help the country combat its own insurgency, presumably deemed terroristic. That aid should be tied to democratic reform in the country, as we have no principled or strategic reason to support a despot over any other government.

In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak has rightly come under fire for the arrest of political opponents. Students distributing anti-Mubarak leaflets were detained, and activists calling for protests were arrested. Chief among the persecuted is Ayman Nour, the founder of a liberal opposition party and potential candidate for president.

Of course, that candidacy would be hurt by the fact that he could not be on the ballot. In Egypt, the parliament nominates a presidential candidate, who then receives a straight up or down vote. Mubarak has served four six-year terms already, and at 76 years old has indicated plans to run for a fifth term. Waiting in the wings as a potential successor is his son. This is not the democracy Bush celebrated in his inaugural address.

Egypt is the United State’s second-leading recipient of foreign aid, receiving around $2 billion every year. Although much of it is basically a payoff to keep the country nominally on our side in the Middle East peace process, it certainly gives us leverage on other issues as well. Bush and his diplomats should use that leverage to push Egypt toward governmental tolerance of dissent, if not for a more open democracy in general.

President Bush praises freedom and democracy almost everywhere he goes, but praise without action is worthless. Let us hope that Bush applies this philosophy to the tasks at hand.