Speeches Former Ambassadors
Independence Day Speech by Ambassador R. Niels Marquardt
Celebration of 231st Anniversary of Independence Day
— July 4, 1776 —
At the Residence of the U.S. Ambassador
July 4, 2007
Your Excellency the Vice Prime Minister
Their Excellencies the Ministers of State
Their Excellencies Ambassadors and Heads of International Organization
Fellow Americans
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you all for accepting our invitation to this celebration of the Declaration of American Independence. This is an important, even sacred, day for all Americans, and we are honored and delighted to share it with you.
Today we can reflect back 231 years to consider the thoughts of our Founding Fathers. We can ponder what moved them to opt for a bold and untested experiment in federal self-governance. They chose to join together 13 diverse and distant colonies who questioned – with reason – what they held in common, and whether it was sufficient to form and sustain a nation. It may seem today that becoming the United States of America was a foregone conclusion. But, like most great human accomplishments, the truth was quite otherwise.
Indeed, self-interest, pride, conceit, and selfishness all had to be overcome for these men to agree to construct the foundation of the diverse, democratic nation we are today. Difficult and fateful compromises – most notably the decision to tolerate slavery – were struck in the name of unity. Hard decisions were deferred to later generations, as was the spilling of the blood of brothers when some of these compromises proved untenable, and even immoral.
As the first colony in the modern world unilaterally to declare and obtain its independence, the United States serves as an example to the many who later followed us down this path. Our example is fraught with human frailty – with human misjudgments, with difficult actions deferred and grave consequences paid. So while we offer our democratic evolution over two and one-third centuries as an example, we do so with utmost humility, aware of our shortcomings and hopeful that others will avoid our failures and more rapidly implement our successes that we did ourselves.
We hope that our experience shows the value of promoting dialogue and accepting compromise, but also the necessity of respecting principles and cherishing values. We hope that our struggle to accommodate diversity under one flag will inspire others to succeed in their own efforts. And we hope that our history of gradually affording the full range of civil and human rights to all citizens can be embraced – but far more immediately – by others. But we also understand that each nation must find its own path, must follow its own rhythm, and must strike its own compromises, as it moves forward on the path toward democracy and inclusion, respecting along the way its own principles and values.
You can see that we Americans have many hopes, for ourselves and for you, and that they are high hopes. Indeed we believe in the depths of our souls that hope is a powerful and indispensable human element, and we believe – in all humility – that our experience can provide hope to others. Hope for peace and prosperity. Hope for health and happiness. Hope for a brighter future for our children, and their children.
So let me say this year in Yaounde that our celebration is about hope, hope for these universal goals that are shared among Cameroonians and Americans and, I think, just about everyone else who lives on this planet.
I would also like to note that tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first American consulate in Cameroon, here in Yaounde in 1957. We have chosen to celebrate this anniversary with a wonderful photo exhibit that shows the broad spectrum of the warm and friendly relations that have always existed between Americans and Cameroonians. I invite you to take some time to enjoy it, and I am pleased to tell you that each of you will receive a photo album of the exhibit on your way out later tonight. The photos speak for themselves, so I won’t any further.
In closing, I would also like to take this occasion to say farewell and thank you to Cameroon and to our many friends here. Judi and I leave Saturday after three truly remarkable years as your guests. We came as friends and now we leave as much closer friends. During the past few weeks, we have taken stock of changes in Cameroon since we came here. All these changes, in my view, are for the better. The two issues that overshadowed all else in 2004 and 2005 have been resolved. The Bakassi settlement should have profound and lasting positive implications both inside Cameroon and within the region. The famous HIPC Completion Point has created a solid foundation for future prosperity. The first signs of this are already visible in the form of infrastructure improvements now being launched. And the fight for good governance and against corruption is clearly advancing.
I have asked Cameroonian friends what differences they see. One said: "A seed has been planted, and it is now germinating." Another said: "Hope for the future has been rekindled." As I leave, I hope these observations are correct. But if a seed is germinating, it will need to be watered and tended. And if hope has been rekindled, it must be kept alive. And those are things best done by Cameroonians for themselves, rather than by those of us privileged to be your guests. So my final hope is that this rekindled hope be kept alive.
Thank you all for coming tonight and for your attention. I now invite you to stay and enjoy the food, the beverages, the music and dance, the other guests and my fellow Americans, and the photo exhibit.