[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 55 (Friday, March 24, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4531-S4532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in honor of Greek 
Independence Day, a national day of celebration marking 174 years of 
freedom for the modern Greek people. The achievements of ancient Greece 
in art, architecture, science, mathematics, philosophy, drama, 
literature, and most importantly--democracy--have become legacies for 
succeeding ages to emulate. Modern Greece, born of these same roots, 
also has given much to the present day world and especially to the 
United States.
  Many Americans can trace their heritage back to the glory of Athens. 
Greek-American Dr. George Kotzias developed medicine to combat the 
scourge of Parkinson's disease. Maria Callas, the Brooklyn-born opera 
soprano, provided us a legacy of beautiful music. Young Pete Sampras 
reminds us of the important contribution the Greeks have made in the 
field of athletics as he continues his outstanding command of the game 
of tennis. Greek-Americans have also contributed to the might of 
America's business and industry showing true entrepreneurial spirit. In 
Operation Desert Storm, Lt. Gen. William ``Gus'' Pagonis, U.S. Army, 
retired, successfully commanded the most complex sea, land, and air 
mobilization executed by a military force since the Second World War. 
And, of course, in this body today are two of the most outstanding 
Greek-American citizens in this country, Senator Olympia Snowe and 
Senator Paul Sarbanes.
  On Monday, I will be visiting with a number of other Greek-American 
leaders to commemorate Greek Independence Day. Foremost among them will 
be his His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos, the spiritual leader of the 
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America.
  On this day, it is important to remember that American democracy 
would not exist today had the Greeks not believed in the power of the 
people to govern. As Pericles said some 2,000 years ago, ``our 
constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of 
the minority, but of the 
[[Page S4532]] whole people * * * everyone equal before the law.''
  So as we honor the modern Greeks and their sons and daughters in 
America today, let me paraphrase Thomas Jefferson--we Americans are all 
indebted to the ancient Greeks for the light of democracy which led us 
out of the darkness of tyranny.

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