Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 195th anniversary of Greek independence. Citizens of Greece have always been a proud people in body, mind, and spirit. 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 and continue to be 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: ``The flames kindled on the Fourth of July 1776 have spread over too 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.'' I am blessed to be of two cultures, Mr. Speaker, 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, holding on to their heritage, their culture, their faith. Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the emblem of freedom for Hellenes, the flag bearing a white cross and nine blue and white stripes representing the nine letters, ``Eleftheria,'' which means freedom.…”