    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [July 4, 1993]
    [Pages 997-999]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 997]]

    Remarks at an Independence Day Ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    July 4, 1993

        Thank you very much, President de Klerk, Mr. Mandela, Senator
    Wofford, distinguished Members of Congress, Mayor Rendell and members of
    the Philadelphia city government, Judge Higginbotham, Reverend Sullivan,
    my fellow Americans.
        As I flew here today from Washington over the farmlands and the
    small towns and the cities and I began to land here in Philadelphia, and
    I could see closely Americans of all kinds enjoying the blessings of
    liberty and the fruits of their labors, I couldn't help thinking that if
    the Founding Fathers were with us today, they would be proud of the work
    that they have done.
        I do want to say a special word to two distinguished Pennsylvanians
    who, but for health reasons, would clearly be here with us today, a word
    of appreciation to them with whom I talked just a few moments ago, your
    brave Governor, Bob Casey, engaged in his heroic struggle--we all wish
    him well--and your distinguished Senator Arlen Specter, who promised me
    he would be back to work soon. He did not promise me a vote, however.
    [Laughter]
        On this, our Nation's birthday in our Nation's birthplace, all of us
    are part of a truly historic occasion as we welcome these two leaders in
    the journey to nonracial democracy in South Africa. Here they stand
    together, the head of state and the former political prisoner. We honor
    the dedication, the dignity, and the discipline of the ANC president,
    Nelson Mandela, who walked out of prison after 27 years, astonishingly
    still unbowed, unbroken, and unembittered. And we salute President de
    Klerk for his wisdom and his determination in moving to dismantle the
    destructive system of apartheid and his courage in asking his people to
    give up something that they have which is not fully legitimate so that
    they can live together in real harmony, real freedom, and real liberty.
    That, too, is an act of courage we should honor.
        I believe that in their common endeavors they are working together
    to liberate all South Africans, to restore material wealth, and to bring
    spiritual health to their beloved country. Many Americans have stood for
    the cause of freedom in South Africa and now I tell you both: The United
    States stands ready to help the people of South Africa as they move
    forward on the journey of democracy.
        Here where our own democracy is born, the United States today
    reaches out a helping hand to those who would build democracy in South
    Africa. We stand ready to help with voter education. We stand ready to
    help to heal the cruel legacies of apartheid, from unemployment to poor
    housing to inadequate education. We want to be your partner. This week
    when I travel to the summit of the world's leading industrial nations, I
    will work to include a new and democratic South Africa in the world
    economy and our common commitment to it.
        And closer to home, my fellow Americans, we must rejoice today in
    the historic accord reached late last evening to restore democracy and
    its elected leader, President Aristide, to Haiti. This agreement is a
    tribute to the dedicated efforts of the United Nations, the OAS, and the
    United States negotiators and to the resilience of the democratic idea
    and the commitment of the Haitian people to that idea.
        I want to say a special word of thanks to all the Members of
    Congress, including the Congressional Black Caucus who worked so hard to
    put the United States on the side of democracy in Haiti. This is their
    victory, too. I called President Aristide this morning to express my
    congratulations and my appreciation for his signing the peace accord,
    and he and I agreed that today we could both wish each other happy
    Independence Day.
        Earlier today, as Americans have done for 217 years, I had the honor
    of participating, with two young children who are direct descendants of
    our Founders, in ringing the Liberty Bell. When that bell first tolled,
    it rang with the moral force of the most powerful common idea humanity
    has ever known: the idea that each of us stands equal before God and
    must therefore be equal before the law; the idea that our human dignity
    is given to us not by any government but by God; the idea that we must
    be citizens, not subjects, proud participants in the democratic process
    of governing ourselves and building our own future. It is that which we
    celebrate and hope for in South Africa, in Haiti,

    [[Page 998]]

    and throughout the rest of the world today and that which we must still
    work to perfect in our own Nation today. Because, even after 217 years,
    no one would say we have got it entirely right yet.
        Still, none can deny that this Nation has survived and succeeded for
    more than two centuries because at every crucial moment we have had the
    courage to change, to make difficult but necessary decisions, and still
    to be faithful to the unchanging ideals which gave birth to us. Thomas
    Jefferson wrote that blistering Declaration of Independence knowing that
    his ideals challenged his country to change. He thought of the
    immorality of slavery in America when he wrote, ``I tremble for my
    country when I reflect that God is just.'' When Abraham Lincoln wrote
    the Emancipation Proclamation, he gave our Nation's bloodiest conflict a
    sacred, moral purpose, to turn the promises of the Declaration and the
    Constitution and the Bill of Rights into living realities for all our
    people.
        It is a struggle we are still waging. Still, we struggle to live in
    a way that will please a just God. Still, we struggle to live in a way
    that we can secure for every American, without regard to race or region
    or station in life, the blessing of life, liberty, and the pursuit of
    happiness. Still, we struggle to find ways to extend a helping hand of
    freedom to people throughout the world. No less than those who founded
    our Republic or fought to keep it together in the Civil War, we too,
    must have the vision and courage to change, to preserve our unchanging
    purposes in a dynamic and difficult world.
        This is not just another nation that we live in. It is the noblest
    effort at self-government and continuous change the world has ever
    known. Here, people from every continent and every country come,
    believing that they can build a new life for themselves and a better
    future for their children. America embodies the idea that a nation can
    be built by the people of every other nation and still be a beacon of
    hope and inspiration to the world and still prove that out of all that
    diversity can become a deeper strength and unity founded on the ideals
    that we celebrate on the Fourth of July.
        To keep that promise, we must continue to lead the world, not only
    politically and morally but economically as well. And all of you know,
    my fellow Americans, that is our great challenge today, when most of our
    people are worried about their own jobs and their own incomes, the
    security of their health care, the safety of their streets, the
    educational future of their children, the challenges to our deepest
    values here in our own homes, and the challenges to our position around
    the world.
        The brave band who invented our country 217 years ago faced a
    difficult future with hope. Today, we are bombarded constantly with the
    magnitude and complexity of our problems, with the foibles of our
    problem-solvers, with the message that things may not be able to get
    better. Too many people are gripped by doubt when we need confidence.
    They are gripped by cynicism when we need hope and faith and conviction.
        My fellow Americans, on this Fourth of July look at these two men
    standing here making world history. Cynicism is a luxury the American
    people cannot afford. Of course, there is much to question and to worry
    about. But I ask you to remember here today, this Nation has endured and
    triumphed over a bloody Civil War, two World Wars, the Great Depression,
    the civil rights struggle, riots in our streets, economic problems, and
    social discord at home and great challengers abroad. And we are still
    here, still leading the way, still looking toward tomorrow. Cynicism is
    a luxury we cannot afford. It defeats us before we begin. It is our job
    to carry on this great tradition.
        Make no mistake about it, as long as we have faith in the future and
    the courage to change, our Nation is still unstoppable. I believe we
    have a future where our ideas continue to be the inspiration for the
    world, where our system continues to be a model for the world, where our
    economy, if we do what we need to do, can once again be the envy of the
    world. All around us, democracy and markets are on the rise, a new
    global economy is emerging, and we welcome the challenges that it
    brings. This new economy is built on innovation. But America has always
    been the home of the great inventors, from Philadelphia's own Ben
    Franklin to the geniuses today who build new computer hardware and write
    software in their basements and garages.
        The new economy is built on education. And America has always been a
    home to education, from Thomas Jefferson, from those to the wonderful
    universities in this great city who educate our young people there and
    reach out to those in the inner-city schools. The new economy is built
    on flexibility and change. We are, my

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    friends, a nation born in revolution and renewed through constant
    change. We can do what we have to do today to renew the American dream.
        The genius of our democracy is that we the people are capable of
    self-government, capable of difficult choices, capable of making the
    changes that each time demands. Through the miracle of democracy, we are
    attempting to do just that today, to gain control of our economic
    destiny, reduce our terrible budget deficit, invest in our future, and
    do it in a way that is fair and that will work.
        In just a couple of days, I will go to Tokyo to represent all of you
    in a meeting of the world's great industrial nations to work with them
    to get this economy moving again and to create jobs and opportunity for
    our people and for theirs as well. We will be able to go there with our
    heads held high because, for all of our difficult problems, we are
    moving: almost a million new jobs in 1993, lower interest rates at home,
    and a sense that things can get better if we keep at it. After long
    periods of division and denial, we are as a people rising to the
    occasion to put our house in order. And now we can say with an
    outstretched hand of friendship to our friends: We have made tough
    choices; so must you. And together, we can offer opportunity to our
    people again. Let us stop pointing the finger of blame and assume
    responsibility and lift the human natures and the human potential of
    people throughout the world. That is the job we will face in Tokyo.
        My fellow Americans, in the shadow of this building let us remember
    that once, here, patriots and visionaries pledged their lives, their
    fortunes, and their sacred honor. Today I tell you that we must pledge
    ourselves to make sure this changing world changes fundamentally for the
    better. Old injustices are ending; new opportunities and challenges are
    emerging. And together, we can make the years ahead the best years our
    Nation has ever had if we can rise above cynicism and doubt, if we can
    see through the siren's songs of the easy answers of the moment, if we
    can remember that from the beginning our people have always known that
    Government could not solve all the problems and that all citizens had to
    be responsible to build this Nation together.
        Today we celebrate these two leaders who have advanced the cause of
    freedom in South Africa and, to be sure, they have advanced the cause of
    freedom throughout the world. Tonight, from parks and waterfronts, in
    backyards, all of us here in America will see our skies brightened by
    the celebration of our own freedom. It will lift the spirits of people
    throughout this country and throughout the world who yet yearn to see
    and breathe and feel that freedom. Let this celebration remind us that
    democracy is a promise for each of us to keep, a promise to be Americans
    in the best sense of the word, to be citizens, not spectators, to do the
    best we can in our families, our jobs, our communities, to shoulder the
    burden of responsibility, not point the finger of blame. This was the
    promise our founders made in this place on this day two centuries ago.
    To keep that tradition, we must be believers and builders. And so must
    we be every day, starting here, right now, today. Let us resolve to do
    it.
        God bless you, and God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:10 p.m. in Independence Hall. In his
    remarks, he referred to Mayor Edward G. Rendell of Philadelphia; Judge
    A. Leon Higginbotham, retired, Third Circuit Court of Appeals; and Rev.
    Leon Sullivan, founder and president of Opportunities Industrialization
    Center and leader in the antiapartheid movement.