Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:52 pm
President Biden delivered a powerfully moving tribute to the fallen and tied their sacrifice to the defense of democracy.
Video:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Biden Tied Memorial Day Sacrifice To Democracy
After speaking about the anniversary of his son Beau’s death and loss, the President later said:
Freedom has never been free. Democracy has always required champions, and today in the perennial struggle for democracy and freedom, Ukraine and its people are in the frontlines fighting to save their nation, but their fight is part of a larger fight that unites all people, a fight that so many of the patriots have eternal rest here were part of, a battle between democracy and autocracy. And forever seek to dominate the lives and liberties of many, a battle for essential democratic principles, the rule of law, free and fair elections, freedom to speak and write and to assemble, freedom to worship as one chooses, freedom of the press, principles that are essential for a free society. You have heard this a lot.Â
You have heard this a lot over the years, but we’re realizing how real it is around the world in so many countries as I speak. These are the foundations of our great experiment, but they are never guaranteed even here in America. Every generation has to defeat democracy’s mortal foes, and into every generation, heroes are born, willing to shed their blood for that which they and we hold dear. Ladies and gentlemen, today we remember and we reaffirm freedom is worth the sacrifice.Â
Democracy is not perfect, it never has been perfect, but it is worth fighting for if necessary worth dying for. It is more than just our form of government, it is the soul of America, the soul of America. Our democracy is our greatest gift of a nation of what we lost along the way. Our democracy is how we undertake the constant work of perfecting union and we have not perfected it, but we have never stopped trying. Of opening the doors wider from opportunity and prosperity and justice for everywhere. We have for 246 years of self-government and how we have come back stronger than before.
Let’s never walk away from that. We must never betray the lives laid down to make our nation a beacon to the world. This is the mission of our time. Our memorial to them must not be just a day when we pause and pray. It must be a daily commitment to act, to come together, to be worthy of the price that was paid. May God bring comfort to all those who mourn. May God bless our gold star families and survivors. And please, god, protect our troops. God bless America and all of you.
Unlike the previous President, Joe Biden’s patriotism has never been in question.
Biden perfectly captured the current moment in history. Democracy is at stake. America is fighting forces both externally and internally that seek to destroy democracy and our fundamental freedoms.
All of those Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice deserve more than a parade or flag hung off the front porch. We as Americans need to remember what those brave men and women sacrificed for.
They gave their lives for democracy, liberty, and for freedom. Those liberties are under threat, and the point of those sacrifices is being lost.
President Biden gets it. There is more at stake than whether or not America will continue to be the world’s beacon of democracy. The current crisis is bigger than anything internally that the nation has faced since the Civil War.
The question is whether or not democracy will still exist and the United States will remain free for the years, decades, and centuries to come.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
