{"id":124451,"date":"2021-07-06T07:17:54","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T14:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=124451"},"modified":"2021-07-06T07:17:54","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T14:17:54","slug":"president-biden-celebrating-independence-day-and-independence-from-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=124451","title":{"rendered":"President Biden Celebrating Independence Day and Independence from COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Today \u2014 today we celebrate America \u2014 (applause) \u2014 our freedom, our liberty, our independence.  The Fourth of July is a sacred day in our country \u2014 a day of history, of hope, remembrance and resolve, of promise and possibilities.  Before me stands monuments of the greatest and the goodness of our nation \u2014 monuments of light and liberty.  There\u2019s a towering memorial to George Washington \u2014 the general who led our Revolution and the President who set our nation on its course.  There\u2019s a memorial to Thomas Jefferson, whose words about liberty and equality literally changed the world.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7G0nUK-Lgww\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And across the Tidal Basin from the Jefferson Memorial, there stands Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. \u2014 his arms crossed, his eyes fixed ahead toward the promised land where equality is not only an aspiration, but a reality.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>They helped define who we are, guide what we do, remind us of the work that history has given us in our own time.<\/p>\n<p>This year, the Fourth of July is a day of special celebration, for we are emerging from the darkness of years; a year of pandemic and isolation; a year of pain, fear, and heartbreaking loss.<\/p>\n<p>Just think back to where this nation was a year ago.  Think back to where you were a year ago.  And think about how far we\u2019ve come.<\/p>\n<p>From silent streets \u2014 (applause) \u2014 from silent streets to crowded parade routes lined with people waving American flags; from empty stadiums and arenas to fans back to their seats cheering together again; from families pressing hands against a window to grandparents hugging their grandchildren once again.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re back traveling again.  We\u2019re back seeing one another again.  Businesses are opening and hiring again.  We\u2019re seeing record job creation and record economic growth \u2014 the best in four decades and, I might add, the best in the world.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Today, all across this nation, we can say with confidence: America is coming back together.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Two hundred and forty-five years ago, we declared our independence from a distant king.  Today, we\u2019re closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus.  That\u2019s not to say the battle against COVID-19 is over.  We\u2019ve got a lot more work to do. <\/p>\n<p>But just as our Declaration in 1776 was not a call to action \u2014 was a call to action, not a reason for complacency or a claim of victory \u2014 it was a call to action \u2014 the same is true today.<\/p>\n<p>Back then, we had the power of an idea on our side.  Today, we have the power of science.  (Applause.)  Thanks to our heroic vaccine effort, we\u2019ve gained the upper hand against this virus.  We can live our lives, our kids can go back to school, our economy is roaring back. <\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong, COVID-19 is \u2014 has not been vanquished.  We all know powerful variants have emerged, like the Delta variant, but the best defense against these variants is to get vaccinated.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>My fellow Americans, it\u2019s the most patriotic thing you can do.  So, please, if you haven\u2019t gotten vaccinated, do it \u2014 do it now for yourself, for your loved ones, for your community, and for your country.<\/p>\n<p>You know, that\u2019s how we\u2019re going to stay ahead of these variants and protect the hard-won progress we\u2019ve made.  We never again want to be where we were a year ago today.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So, today, while the virus hasn\u2019t been vanquished, we know this: It no longer controls our lives.  It no longer paralyzes our nation.  And it\u2019s within our power to make sure it never does again.  And for that, we can thank the scientists and researchers, the educators, and all the other frontline and essential workers, like many of you here today \u2014 (applause) \u2014<\/p>\n<p>who became the light to see us through the darkness. <\/p>\n<p>I hope you know that you, the American people, have been part of one of the most remarkable achievements in American history.  But in this moment of joy, we know that this day falls hard on all those who\u2019ve lost a loved one.<\/p>\n<p>So I\u2019ve told you before: Each day, I carry a card in my pocket with my schedule on it.  In the back of that schedule, on that card, are the number of Americans who\u2019ve lost their lives to COVID \u2014 the precise number.<\/p>\n<p>As of tonight, that number is 603,018 people who have lost their lives.  They\u2019re husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, grandparents, friends, neighbors, coworkers.<\/p>\n<p>And we also remember all those who lost this year \u2014 that we lost and families lost to other causes \u2014 other causes of death and cruel twists of fate.  They, too, left behind loved ones unable to grieve or mourn or find closure.  Each of them meant the world to someone they left behind.  And those of you who\u2019ve been through all this know that to heal, you have to remember.  We have to remember them, and we will.  We\u2019ll commit to always remember them.  That\u2019s what we\u2019ll do.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve long said that America is unique.  Unlike every other nation on Earth, we were founded based on an idea.  We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all people are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights \u2014 among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. <\/p>\n<p>And while we\u2019ve never fully lived up to those words, we have never given up on them.  They continue to animate us, and they remind us what, at our best, we as Americans believe: We, Americans \u2014 we believe in honesty and decency, in treating everyone with dignity and respect, giving everyone a fair shot, demonizing no one, giving hate no safe harbor, and leaving no one behind. <\/p>\n<p>We lead by the power of our example, not the example of our power.  And we\u2019re part of som- \u2014 something so much bigger than ourselves.  We stand as a beacon to the world. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a code. It\u2019s a code \u2014 uniquely American code.  It\u2019s who we are.<\/p>\n<p>To all the service members and your families who are here tonight, today, all of you serving around the world: It\u2019s the greatest honor to serve as your Commander-in-Chief.<\/p>\n<p>Jill and I \u2014 (applause) \u2014 Jill and I, and our entire family, thank you for your service and sacrifice.  Like so many military families thinking of your loved ones who served, we think of our son Beau today. <\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re all part of a long chain of patriots who pledged their lives and their sacred honor in defense of this nation and democracy around the world; for freedom and fair play; for peace and security and opportunity; for the cause of justice; for the soul of America itself.<\/p>\n<p>But the defense of all that we love doesn\u2019t fall on your shoulders alone.  It falls on all \u2014 all of us \u2014 every one of us \u2014 every American.<\/p>\n<p>Each day, we\u2019re reminded there\u2019s nothing guaranteed about our democracy, nothing guaranteed about our way of life.  We have to fight for it, defend it, earn it.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, it\u2019s up to all of us to protect the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the right to equal justice under the law; the right to vote and have that vote counted; the right \u2014 (applause) \u2014 the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and know that our children and grandchildren will be safe on this planet for generations to come \u2014 (applause); the right to rise in the world as far as your God-given calent [talent] can take you, unlimited by barriers of privilege or power.<\/p>\n<p>One of the great gifts of the spirit of independence \u2014 and think about this: One of the great gifts is our capacity to see ourselves whole and see ourselves honestly \u2014 what we\u2019ve gotten right, what we\u2019ve gotten wrong.  It\u2019s a measure of the greatness of America, and we are a great nation.  We don\u2019t seek to bury the wrongs.  We face it.  We work to make it right.<\/p>\n<p>You know, history tells us that when we stand together, when we unite in common cause, when we see ourselves not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans, then there\u2019s simply no limit to what we can achieve.  (Applause.)  None.<\/p>\n<p>And today we see the results of the unity of purpose \u2014 the unity of purpose in \u2014 forging in our nati- \u2014 we\u2019re forging in our nation, for together we\u2019re beating the virus.  Together, we\u2019re breathing life into our economy.  Together, we will rescue our people from division and despair.  But together we must do it.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past year, we\u2019ve lived through some of our darkest days.  Now I truly believe \u2014 I give you my word as a Biden \u2014 I truly believe we\u2019re about to see our brightest future.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Folks, this is a special nation, a great nation.  And there is a timeless truth about America.  The most powerful idea in the history of the world [beats] in the hearts of the people of this country.  It beats in all our hearts no matter your race or ethnicity; no matter your gender identity or sexual orientation \u2014 (applause); no matter your disability; no matter your faith.  It beats in the hearts of rich and poor alike. <\/p>\n<p>It unites America whether your ancestors were native to this land or brought here forcibly and enslaved; whether you were immigrants from generations back \u2014 like my family that came from Ireland \u2014 or you\u2019re coming here today looking to build a better life for your family, like our fellow Americans I just swore in, in the White House, two days ago.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>The American creed \u2014 we use that phrase, \u201cthe American creed\u201d \u2014 is we\u2019re all equal, created equal.  It was written a long time ago.  But the genius is that every generation of Americans has expanded it wider and wider to include those who were exc- \u2014 excluded before.  That\u2019s why it\u2019s never gathered dust in our history books.  It\u2019s still alive today \u2014 alive in our hearts; alive in the work of our hands; alive not only in the history we read, but in the history we\u2019re making.<\/p>\n<p>My fellow Americans, now we\u2019re the guardians of that very idea of America.  It\u2019s up to us to save it, to preserve it, to build on it, and I know we will.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>On this sacred day, I look out to those monuments on our National Mall and beyond them, into the hearts of our people across the land, and I know this: It\u2019s never, ever been a good bet to bet against America \u2014 never.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>We just have to remember who we are: We are the United States of America, and there\u2019s nothing \u2014 nothing we can\u2019t do if we do it together.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Folks, happy Fourth of July, America.  (Applause.)  God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>7:45 P.M. EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Today \u2014 today we celebrate America \u2014 (applause) \u2014 our freedom, our liberty, our independence. The Fourth of July is a sacred day in our country \u2014 a day of history, of hope, remembrance and resolve, of promise and possibilities. Before me stands monuments of the greatest and the goodness of our nation \u2014 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Fullscreen-capture-762021-71413-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=124451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/124452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=124451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=124451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=124451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}