Ambassador Whitney's remarks on Independence Day Celebration
(June 19, 2008)
Stortingspresident Jagland, Statsråder, mine kolleger ambassadørene, og kjære alle andre gjester,
Hjertelig velkommen! Som Amerikanere setter vi stor pris på å feire den amerikanske uavhengighetsdagen med norske venner og venner fra mange andre land.
Thank you all for coming and making this 232nd anniversary of the independence of the United States of America more special.
Many deserve recognition for the hard work of preparing for this occasion. A special thank you to the residence and embassy staffs and my more than patient wife Mary.
Our generous sponsors are listed in the program. It would be impossible to hold such an event without their support.
Many special people have helped us mark this day: our Marine color guard, the wonderful musicians of “The Diplomats,” the U.S. Naval Forces in Europe band; and the Stabekk skole marching band, the Smågardistene.
I am proud of my son David and thank him for the introduction. There is a special joy by being out shown by one’s children.
Please give a round of applause to all those worked to make this event a success.
We have two other special aspects to today’s event, both related to the future. For det første, en spesiell hilsen til de norske studentene som er her i dag. We are proud to have many young Norwegians celebrate with us. Maybe you students think we have invited you just to eat hamburgers – but I have a secret motive. I respectfully ask you to consider pursuing part of your education in the United States. I believe it will greatly benefit you and I know it will build the future relationship between Norway and the U.S.
The other future-oriented part of this event is the environmental displays by American companies. A strong spirit of innovation, energy, and social responsibility is reflected in how these companies are working to address climate change and other environmental issues. Please take a moment to see these displays at the back of the tent.
Today is a day of fun, food, music, games, and friendship. It is meant to be so. And it is also a day of important meaning.
Today we celebrate the Declaration of Independence, a truly radical document in which fifty-six colonists from the edges of the then-known civilization suddenly declared themselves and their people separated from the greatest empire on earth. Not only that, they declared the very right do to so based on inalienable individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This was a courageous, visionary, and perhaps insane act of commitment to freedom.
At age 70, Ben Franklin was the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence adopted on that first 4th of July, 1776. He knew the declaration was itself an act of high treason against the British crown, punishable by death. When he signed it, Franklin with his characteristic humor said, “Yes, we must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
The American colonists indeed hung together and their courage and the Declaration of Independence inspired other peoples committed to freedom in the centuries that followed, including the Norwegian patriots of 1814 in Eidsvoll.
Time and time again, history has shown us that the friends of liberty must be willing to “hang together” on the risky path of protecting and promoting freedom.
So our question today is really the same as the one asked of the signers of the Declaration and similar documents: how much is freedom worth to us? The answer lies in what we’re willing to put at risk to preserve it and create it.
Last night I was privileged to attend a ceremony in honor of a man who answered that question very clearly. He is someone many Norwegians know – Gunnar Sonsteby, a hero of the Norwegian resistance. Admiral Eric Olsen, head of all U.S. special forces traveled to Norway to award Gunnar the SOCOM medal, the highest decoration awarded by the Special Forces Command.
I am proud to say that Gunnar is the first non-American in history to receive this honor. The award was a surprise to Gunnar, and in his humble manner his first response was to say – “I hope you have the right man.” He most certainly is the right the man because Gunnar Sonsteby provides a shining example of how much a person can be willing to risk to fight for our freedoms.
Ben Franklin loved the concluding line of the Declaration which states:
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Most of those who signed it lost their fortunes and many lost their lives, but in a way that ultimately preserved their honor.
As we gather today as friends from the United States, from Norway, and from other nations, may we pledge our honor, our lives and our fortunes to each other this Independence Day, so as in Abraham Lincoln’s words and in Gunnar Sonsteby’s actions, freedom can always remain “the last best hope of earth.”
Thank you for joining us on this special day.