Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 193rd anniversary of Greek independence. Citizens of Greece have always been a proud people in body, mind, and spirit. {time} 1030 From Pericles, Greek statesman and general, dubbed the first citizen of Athens; to Plato, who laid a groundwork in philosophy so vast that the entirety of European philosophical tradition is said to simply be a footnote to his work; to Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of an independent Greece, Greeks have been exceptional, Mr. Speaker. I am almost certain that Thomas Jefferson cast an eye across the Atlantic towards Greece when he uttered these words in 1821, when Greece declared their independence: The flames kindled on the 4th of July 1776 have not spread over much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism--on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them. It is no coincidence that the Feast of Annunciation, a commemoration of the conception of Jesus Christ, was chosen to ignite the action for independence. I am blessed to be of two cultures that have been beacons of liberty for all of civilization, the place of my birth, the land of the free, and the home of the brave, the United States of America; and the land of my ancestors, the birthplace of democracy, the Hellenic Republic. Many Greeks fought for years, clutching to the heritage, culture, and faith.…”