[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 27 (Monday, July 14, 2008)]
[Pages 962-963]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

July 5, 2008

    Good morning. This weekend, Americans are celebrating the 
anniversary of our Nation's independence. Two hundred and thirty-two 
years ago, our Founding Fathers came together in Philadelphia to 
proclaim that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by 
their Creator with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit 
of happiness.
    The man who wrote those immortal words was Thomas Jefferson. 
Yesterday, I celebrated the Fourth of July at Monticello, Jefferson's 
home in Virginia. While there, I witnessed an event that would have made 
the author of the Declaration of Independence

[[Page 963]]

proud. On Monticello's lawn, more than 70 men and women from dozens of 
countries raised their right hands to take the oath of American 
citizenship. They swore their allegiance to the Constitution. They 
promised that they would defend the laws of the United States. And they 
reminded everyone in attendance that the promise of America is open to 
all.
    These new citizens come from countries as diverse as Burma, 
Afghanistan, Norway, and Iraq. These new citizens are proof that there 
is no American race, just an American creed. In the United States, we 
believe in the rights and dignity of every person; we believe in equal 
justice, limited government, and the rule of law; and we believe in 
personal responsibility and tolerance towards others. This creed of 
freedom and equality has lifted the lives of millions of Americans, 
whether citizens by birth or citizens by choice.
    This creed of freedom has required brave defenders, and every 
generation of Americans has produced them. From the soldiers who fought 
for independence at Bunker Hill and Yorktown to the Americans who broke 
the chains of slavery, liberated Europe and Asia from tyranny, and 
brought down an evil empire, the people of this great land have always 
risen to freedom's defense.
    Today, the men and women of America's Armed Forces continue this 
proud tradition of defending liberty. In places like Afghanistan and 
Iraq, many risk their lives every day to protect America and uphold the 
principle that human freedom is the birthright of all people and a gift 
from the Almighty. These brave Americans make it possible for America to 
endure as a free society. So on this Fourth of July, we owe all those 
who wear the uniform of the United States a special debt of gratitude. 
And we thank their families for supporting them in this crucial time for 
our Nation.
    The Fourth of July is a day when all Americans take a moment to 
share a collective sense of pride in our country. We live in a Nation 
founded on the power of an idea, a Nation where opportunity is limited 
only by imagination, and a Nation that has done more than any other to 
spread the light of liberty throughout the world. Today, that light 
shines as brightly as it did in 1776. And with ``the protection of 
Divine Providence,'' it will continue to shine brightly for generations 
to come.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 8:55 a.m. on July 3 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 5. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
July 3 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.