Fourth of July, 2016. Hudson Farm Community Garden, Andover, NJ.
It’s Independence Day, 2016. Let freedom ring.
“One of the most famous political speeches on freedom in the twentieth century was delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union message to Congress,” according to the National Endowment for the Humanities. “In bold and plain language, Roosevelt’s declaration raises many of the broad questions underlying any discussion of freedom. “
With the state of politics in the United States – and around the globe – in a tumultuous condition, this iconic speech is just as pertinent today as it was 75 years ago. Take a moment to reflect on it’s meaning as you celebrate with family and friends today.
If you would like to read the full text of the speech, or listen to an audio file of it being delivered by President Roosevelt, both can be found here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrthefourfreedoms.htm
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“For there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy. The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:
“Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
“Jobs for all those who can work.
“Security for all those who need it.
“The ending of special privileges for the few.
“The preservation of civil liberties for all.
“The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.
“These are simple, basic things that must never be lost in the sight of the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations….
“In future days, which we seek to secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
“The first is the freedom of speech and expression–everywhere in the world.
“The second is the freedom of every person to worship God in his own way–everywhere in the world.
“The third is the freedom from want–which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants–everywhere in the world.
“The fourth is freedom from fear–which, translated into world terms, means a worldwide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor–anywhere in the world.
“That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
“To that new order, we oppose the greater conception–the moral order. A good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.
“Since the beginning of American history, we have been engaged in change–in a perpetual peaceful revolution–a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly, adjusting itself to changing conditions–without the concentration camp or the quicklime in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.
“This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of millions of free men and women; and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or to keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.
“To that high concept there can be no end save victory.”