The Values We Cherish as a People

“This is the day when we celebrate the very essence of America and the spirit that has defined us as a people and as a nation for more than two centuries.  Even now, all these years later, we still look in awe at the small band of patriots who stood up and risked everything, and defied an empire to declare “that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.”

“We're amazed at the debt to a founding generation that gave their blood to give meaning to those words, pledging to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.  And we celebrate the principles that are timeless —- tenets first declared by men of property and wealth, but which gave rise to what Lincoln called a “new birth of freedom” in America:  civil rights and voting rights, workers’ rights and women’s rights, and the rights of every American. 

“And on this day that is uniquely American, we’re reminded that our Declaration, our example, made us a beacon to the world, not only inspiring people to demand their own freedom -- from Latin American to Africa, from Europe to Asia -- but even now, in this time, these ideals still light the world.

“Two hundred and thirty-four years later, the words are just as bold, just as revolutionary, as they were when they were first pronounced:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

“These are not simply words on aging parchment.  They are the principles that define us as a nation, the values we cherish as a people, and the ideals we strive for as a society, even as we know that we constantly have to work in order to perfect our union, and that work is never truly done.”

Remarks by the President Barack Obama at Independence Day Celebrations, July 4, 2010

Photo: Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library.