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Capitol Comment
by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
The Fourth of July: A Legacy of Liberty
June 29, 2007
Each Fourth of July, we gather to celebrate our nation’s independence with fireworks, street parades, backyard barbeques and other familiar rituals that mark a summer in full swing. But this uniquely American holiday commemorates not only the anniversary of our nation—it celebrates America’s bedrock principle of freedom and honors our steadfast legacy of liberty.
When the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, they pledged their “lives, fortunes and sacred honor” to defeat tyranny. They had faith in the righteousness of their struggle, but no guarantee of its success. And yet, they strove through difficult times and against seemingly impossible odds to secure the freedoms we enjoy today. For eight long years, the Continental Army and Navy struggled against the much larger English forces. The members of America’s first Congress stayed true to their chosen course, even as King George III called for their heads. With help from our allies, America eventually secured its independence.
America continues to share its legacy of liberty throughout the world. Our first military action as a new nation was to drive the Barbary Pirates from the shores of North Africa. In World Wars I and II, we allied with the free nations of Europe and Asia to combat and repel the forces of despotism and oppression. For over 40 years, we fought a Cold War against communist dictators.
Today, freedom is again embattled, and our legacy demands that we defend it. The enemies that attacked us on September 11th have no respect for human life and no respect for freedom. They have vowed to subjugate the world to their fundamentalism and to establish a global theocracy based on their extreme and corrupted version of Islam. We cannot allow them to succeed.
We have engaged these enemies in a Global War on Terror. Make no mistake—Al Qaeda seeks the destruction of liberty as assiduously as any foe we have ever faced. They attacked us and our allies before September 11th, and have done so since in the London, Madrid and Bali bombings. Our vigilance has thankfully foiled such attempts on our soil, including recent bomb plots at Fort Dix and JFK International Airport. Our brave servicemen and women are fighting terrorism in Iraq, in Afghanistan and around the world so the terrorists will not be able to export their heinous crimes to America.
As we celebrate this Fourth of July, we send our special thoughts and earnest prayers to those American men and women who fight to defend our way of life. Our founding fathers pledged everything they had to secure our freedom. Today, we honor the men and women who follow in their footsteps to preserve it, and carry on our legacy of liberty.
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