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We – Americans and Albanians – are alike in many ways: Never give up on a just future

2023-06-22 20:53:00Pikëpamje SHKRUAR NGA YURI KIM
We – Americans and Albanians – are alike in many ways: Never give up
Yuri Kim

AMBASSADOR YURI KIM'S SPEECH ON THE CELEBRATION OF THE 247TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE DAY

Mr. President, I thank you very much for your kind words on behalf of the Albanian people.

Madam Speaker, Excellencies, distinguished guests, friends – thank you for joining us in celebrating the 247th anniversary of the Independence of the United States.

At our founding, Americans declared through our Constitution that "We the People" and no one else - no king, no general, no ruler - no one but "We the People" have the power and the right to decide who we are, what we want and what will be our fate.

You may recall that I turned to these well-known words of the American Constitution last year. I am repeating them tonight because the idea behind "We the People" is more important than ever before for both of our countries and, indeed, for the entire world.

"We the People" is a statement about action and choice in a democracy: We affirm that "We the People" are the source of power and what we choose matters most.

I would like to focus this evening on choice, which is necessarily about the future. We can argue about the past, but we cannot change it. We can only choose what happens next.

From all the activities that I have been a part of or seen from all the people in the 61 municipalities that I have visited, as well as this beautiful country that I have met over the last three and a half years, it is clear to me that the people of Albania has made his choice: to be free and democratic, to be among those nations that will protect the freedom and democracy of others, to make sure that Albania is never hidden from this world. So, you are like us. I think that Secretary Baker must have felt this when he said from Skënderbej Square in 1991: "You are with us and we are with you!".

Just as the Americans declared our election in 1776, the Albanians declared their election in 1991.

Americans chose on July 4, 1776, to be free; to believe that citizens are the source, not the subject, of government power; commit to choosing our future every day to make our union more perfect; to admit that we are human beings who will occasionally make mistakes, but who believe that because we are Americans we will get up and try again, and make better choices.

Thirty-two years ago, Albanians, you - like us - chose to be free; you – like us – decided that citizens are the source, not the subject, of government power; you – like us – know that democracy requires commitment and consistency; you – like us – want your children to live in a world where they have an equal chance to pursue happiness; you – like us – are willing to do the hard work to make the future better than the past.

If I've learned anything from my time in Albania, it's that we—Americans and Albanians—are alike in many ways, including the most important ways. I hope that the American people and the Albanian people will always maintain this closeness. And I hope everyone will see that we – like you – will never give up on our demand for a fairer, stronger and more prosperous future for us all.

And this may be my last chance to see some of you face to face, and I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to all of you for what you have done. I am grateful to know that each of you is making a tremendous contribution to US-Albania relations and to your country. I think with every person here I've had one disagreement or another, with some of you more than others, but I still believe - just as I believed from the beginning - that what unites us is so much greater than what separates us. So thank you for being here tonight to join us in the party and thank you for your friendship and advice. And I'll see you in Washington.

Thank you!


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