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I am delighted to join my fellow Americans across the nation
and around the world in celebrating Independence Day.
Throughout the year, we set aside special times to remember and
celebrate our different ethnic roots. But on Independence Day, we rejoice in
our common heritage as Americans and in the values and history we share.
We have all benefited from the wisdom of our nation's founders,
who crafted a blueprint for democracy that has served us well for more than 200
years and continues to inspire newly independent nations around the world. We
are all heirs to the rights articulated in our Constitution and reaffirmed by
courageous men and women of every generation who have struggled to secure
justice and equality for all. We are all forever indebted to the millions of
Americans in uniform who have shed their blood to defend our freedom and
preserve our values across America and around the globe.
But we Americans are bound together not only by a shared past,
but also by a common future. Blessed with peace and prosperity, we have an
unprecedented opportunity to prepare for the challenges of the next century: to
keep America free and secure, to improve health care and education, to bring
the opportunities of the Information Age into every home and classroom, and to
strengthen the bonds of our national community as we grow more racially and
ethnically diverse.
On this Independence Day, as we celebrate our rights and
freedoms and look forward to a new century of limitless possibilities, Hillary
joins me in wishing you a wonderful Fourth of July.
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