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America is still a beacon of liberty
by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Published in the Austin American Statesman June 30, 2008
On July 3, 1776, the day after the Continental Congress unanimously voted for the Declaration of Independence, John Adams wrote this to his wife, Abigail: "You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory."
The next day, when the Founding Fathers signed that Declaration of Independence, they pledged their "lives, fortunes and sacred honor" to create a new nation rooted in liberty. They had complete faith in the righteousness of their struggle with no guarantee of its success. They saw that unprecedented opportunities lay ahead, though they were aware of the cost. And yet they strove, through difficult times and against seemingly impossible odds, to secure the freedoms we enjoy today.
Across the world, other nations, silenced by oppressors and stifled under tyranny, have looked to America as a beacon of hope when they have chosen freedom and democracy for future generations of their children.
Within just the past 25 years, the light of liberty has spread across the globe. In 1955, the Warsaw Pact was signed by a block of Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The Soviet-led pact — formalizing what Winston Churchill called "the Iron Curtain" in a speech right after World War II — was to be the Communist answer to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Thirty-five years later, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the people of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania overthrew communist despots and seized their "unalienable rights" of freedom and self-governance.
Liberty has also spread in the Middle East, a region steeped in ancient tradition and centuries-old tribal systems. Persian Gulf states, like Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, are opening the political process by expanding voting rights and civil liberties to women. Some states now allow minority ethnic or religious populations to hold elected office.
In Iraq, after nearly 25 years under Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi people overwhelmingly affirmed a constitution in 2005. Though saddled with the challenge of a violent insurgency, this new democracy makes courageous strides toward stability every day.
The rights that seem natural to Americans are illuminating dark parts of the world and introducing people to freedom and democracy.
Throughout our own nation's history, whenever our freedom has been threatened, we have risen to its defense. On battlefields across the world, our forces have heeded the call to service, fought on the frontlines, and showed the true measure and depth of American character. Whether at Bunker Hill, on the beaches of Normandy, or in the streets of Baghdad, their mission has always been the same: fight for freedom, liberty and a just society.
In the face of global terrorism, America's resolve is again being tested. Iraq and Afghanistan — the central fronts in the war on terror — are where the forces of freedom, tolerance, and democracy are fighting to defeat the tyranny and oppression of al Qaeda, the Taliban and radical Islam.
The eyes of the world are on our nation as we meet this great challenge. Our enemies and friends are watching to see whether America has the same tenacity and commitment that it has exhibited throughout its great history.
As we celebrate Independence Day, let us all keep our brave troops in our prayers. And let us remember that they are fighting to preserve the liberties our forebears won so long ago.
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