2005 Speeches

Freedom

July 4, 2005

Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador
Independence Day Celebration

…Ladies and Gentlemen: I thank you for joining us, members of the U.S. Embassy community and Americans resident in Trinidad and Tobago, to celebrate our Independence Day.

If you have paid attention, you may realize that we have tried to take you on a musical tour of the U.S.A. After you boarded the Chatanooga Choo Choo, we took you to cities in several states and one territory. We took you North to Alaska; west to California and Hawaii; to Chicago in the great Midwest; to New York where so many Caribbean people reside; to Puerto Rico in the Caribbean; and to many other places.

We wanted you to mentally experience that sense of freedom that traveling over wide spaces brings. Many Americans enjoy that feeling of freedom by traveling throughout America and abroad, including the Caribbean; and on one day of the year, July 4th, we have a special celebration of freedom to mark the attainment of our independence as a nation. It was on that day in 1776 that our forefathers proclaimed the universal freedom of humans and the fundamental right to self-government. These ideas continue to guide our government and peoples to this day.

As President Bush stated in his inaugural address earlier this year, “Across the generations, we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government … Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our nation … So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture.” This evening, we wish you to give some thought to the concept of freedom and to the threat it faces from crime, inter-group tensions, and media irresponsibility.

The pursuit of freedom is a natural human tendency. So strong is this inclination that we are kept from abusing it only because we have learnt affection for other humans or have learnt that unbridled freedom is contrary to our own interests, making for an unsafe and uncertain existence. By accepting restrictions on our own freedom, we proclaim to others that we expect them to accept the same. In dealing with each other, both parties then exercise freedom responsibly, and they both benefit. The extension of such considerate interactions eventuate in communities in which members render assistance to one another.

Americans believe that the happiness which freedom brings should be enjoyed by everyone. Therefore, when people exercise free will to pursue freedom, our country is committed to helping them attain it, helping them to find their own voice and establish their own democratic institutions.

Over the last 229 years, we have witnessed the extension of freedom to every corner of the world. Since 2000, countries whose people had suffered under decades of autocratic rule and oppression, countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Georgia, have taken their first tentative steps towards democracy; and those who struggle for freedom, both in this hemisphere and in the rest of the world, know that the United States is ready and willing to lend a helping hand.

However, the strength of the desire for freedom leads many people to abuse freedom, and thereby threaten free societies. Crime is one of the manifestations of the abuse of freedom, and one of the greatest threats to free societies because it undermines the trust upon which they are built. Respect for the rule of law, then, is one of the core responsibilities of free peoples.

Modern societies are often heterogeneous with respect to ethnicity, religion, language, culture and other characteristics. Thus, these societies may be comprised of, for instance, several ethnic groups conscious of their separateness even if they share the same neighborhoods. Within the ethnic group, people may respect limitations on freedom and show that they care for one another; but the opposite may hold between groups. Freedom of association becomes a license for one community to discriminate against another and exploit any weaknesses in the other. History has frequently recorded the perils of this abuse of freedom. Yugoslavia before and after the passing of Tito in 1980 should provide heterogeneous societies with much food for thought.

A third example of abuse of freedom and the resulting undesirable effects may be seen in societies that pride themselves on freedom of speech and of the press. During early May, an influential American newsmagazine carried a story declaring that American interrogators had desecrated a copy of the Koran. Hundreds rioted in Afghanistan, causing deaths, injuries and the destruction of buildings. The newsmagazine later admitted that further research showed little evidence to support the credibility of the story. Too often is freedom of the press taken as license to sensationalize, to distort by removing facts from their context, and to otherwise violate journalistic ethics for some momentary advantage. Free peoples deserve a press that provides reliable information to enable them to make carefully reasoned decisions for the proper governance of their societies.

Only within free societies can individuals truly realize their full potential as human beings; but freedom prospers only when it is responsibly enjoyed. And so, we beseech everybody gathered here to be cognizant of our responsibilities, steadfast in our resolve to extend and protect freedom, and grateful for the happiness our nations bestow upon us. As we celebrate our gift of freedom, please do us the honor of raising your glasses with me in a toast … to FREEDOM.