Former Ambassador Pamela Hyde Smith Speeches

Ambassador Pamela Hyde Smith's Declaration on Independence Day 2003

July 3, 2003

Ambassador Pamela Hyde Smith's Declaration on Independence Day 2003

On July 4, Americans throughout the world celebrate the event that, for us, started everything - the birth of our nation. 227 years ago, a group of American settlers made a bold decision that changed the course of history: they adopted the Declaration of Independence.

 Listen to these famous words from that document:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…"

Today, these are familiar words and familiar ideas to all Americans and to many people throughout the world. But when Thomas Jefferson wrote them, they seemed radical to many. Never before had a nation been created in such a manner, through a declaration drafted by elected citizens of the new nation. Never before had these freedoms been declared fundamental entitlements of all human beings.

Even now, these words reach out to us; they hold us with their simplicity and their power, and echo across the centuries. These inalienable rights are an integral part of the American experience.

 Today the United States is one among 120 democratic countries throughout the world, including Moldova. Although our countries became independent over two hundred years apart, Moldova and the United States have certain important things in common. We are both committed to the principles of equality, liberty, and democracy that are outlined in the Declaration of Independence, and we both have multiethnic populations.

Although it took some time to develop, in the United States, this cultural diversity has become a source of strength. I hope that you, the people of Moldova, recognize and draw upon the power you have as a multicultural society and use it to make Moldova a more stable, prosperous democracy.

All the Americans living here in Moldova deeply appreciate the friendship and hospitality of the Moldovan people. On behalf of the President of the United States and my fellow Americans, I would like to thank you for helping us feel at home here and helping us to celebrate our national day.

Thank you very much and Happy 4th of July!