![\"Ambassador](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AMB_Merrick_Flag_crop1-2-e1773328778223.jpg\")
Ambassador Merrick
<\/p>\nAmbassador Merrick
<\/p>\n
President Pavel, Ministers, Ambassadors, judges, distinguished guests,\u202fand friends.\u202f\u202fOn behalf of President Donald J. Trump, the U.S. Embassy in Prague, and the American people, it is my honor to welcome you to this evening\u2019s celebration of 250 years of American Independence.<\/p>\n
It is a pleasure to have you join us,\u00a0to\u00a0remember\u00a0and\u00a0celebrate\u00a0our history.\u00a0\u00a0While today offers us an opportunity to\u00a0look back and\u00a0learn from the\u00a0past,\u00a0this\u00a0story,\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0spirit\u00a0of our\u00a0struggle for\u00a0independence,\u00a0also\u00a0lights\u00a0our\u00a0path forward.<\/p>\n
Two hundred and fifty years ago,\u00a0the\u00a0delegates to the Second Continental\u00a0Congress\u00a0approved\u00a0the Declaration of Independence\u00a0in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.\u00a0\u00a0That document, and the men\u00a0who\u00a0signed it,\u00a0transformed\u00a0the world.<\/p>\n
But before the founders\u00a0became\u00a0audacious rebels who changed the course of human history,\u00a0before they\u00a0were written into\u00a0history\u2019s\u00a0textbooks, they were 56 men who\u00a0were\u00a0successful\u00a0by most any definition.<\/p>\n
They could have continued in comfort as subjects\u00a0to a distant monarch, but they\u00a0dared\u00a0to\u00a0seize\u00a0their\u00a0own destiny.<\/p>\n
And, as they signed the Declaration of Independence, they\u00a0were potentially signing their\u00a0own\u00a0death warrants.\u00a0\u00a0They were\u00a0also\u00a0breathing\u00a0new life\u00a0into ideas\u00a0that\u00a0had\u00a0pre-dated the American project\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the inherent rights of\u00a0human beings,\u00a0a\u00a0government that serves life and liberty, the\u00a0contract between\u00a0people and power\u00a0\u2013\u00a0ideas\u00a0inherited\u00a0from\u00a0this\u00a0continent.<\/p>\n
Their genius\u00a0was not in the conception of a\u00a0new\u00a0political theory, but in their\u00a0reshaping\u00a0of revolutionary ideas\u00a0around freedom and self-rule,\u00a0and their\u00a0willingness\u00a0to\u00a0sacrifice\u00a0to\u00a0make them real.<\/p>\n
This\u00a0act of rebellion\u00a0sparked a transformation\u00a0of\u00a0principles,\u00a0into a system of government,\u00a0animated\u00a0by\u00a0the\u00a0balance between\u00a0freedom\u00a0and\u00a0responsibility.<\/p>\n
The framers\u00a0of the Constitution\u00a0designed\u00a0a system\u00a0not to\u00a0eliminate\u00a0disagreement, but to\u00a0harness\u00a0it,\u00a0in\u00a0perpetual\u00a0service of\u00a0forming\u00a0a more perfect\u00a0union.<\/p>\n
In doing so, they created a\u00a0framework\u00a0resilient\u00a0enough to adapt\u00a0through the\u00a0centuries,\u00a0robust\u00a0enough\u00a0to\u00a0thrive\u00a0in an\u00a0uncertain\u00a0world, and\u00a0powerful\u00a0enough to\u00a0change it.<\/p>\n
The revolutionaries of 1776,\u00a0left us a\u00a0legacy of courage, sacrifice, and\u00a0an\u00a0unwavering commitment to freedom\u00a0in the face of\u00a0great risk\u00a0and uncertainty.\u00a0\u00a0We honor that legacy by\u00a0following\u00a0their example, by\u00a0embracing\u00a0risk as\u00a0we\u00a0aspire to\u00a0something greater than ourselves, and by\u00a0assuming\u00a0the responsibility\u00a0that\u00a0true freedom demands.<\/p>\n
While the United States is a young country, we have a unique role as the world\u2019s oldest continuous democracy.\u00a0\u00a0And,\u00a0as the United States\u00a0grew\u00a0and\u00a0flourished,\u00a0we embraced a duty to our own citizens first,\u00a0and\u00a0then\u00a0to all free nations, to\u00a0all\u00a0who\u00a0have\u00a0aspired\u00a0to the freedoms\u00a0that\u00a0we enjoy.<\/p>\n
Our strong alliances, shared wealth\u00a0from free trade, and\u00a0the depth of our\u00a0cultural\u00a0connections,\u00a0are a testament to that legacy of\u00a0global\u00a0leadership.<\/p>\n
Thanks to the\u00a0bonds\u00a0that\u00a0we\u00a0collectively\u00a0share, this\u00a0spirit\u00a0also\u00a0animated\u00a0the Czech lands,\u00a0just\u00a0as it\u00a0flourished in the\u00a0American\u00a0new world.<\/p>\n
We saw that shared spirit in 1918, when Tom\u00e1\u0161 Garrigue Masaryk synthesized Western democratic ideals and forged a new, independent Czechoslovakia.<\/p>\n
And we saw it within living memory, in 1989, when V\u00e1clav Havel and thousands of ordinary citizens\u00a0discarded\u00a0quiet comfort,\u00a0raised\u00a0their voices for liberty,\u00a0and\u00a0remade\u00a0their\u00a0government and\u00a0their\u00a0society.\u00a0\u00a0In those moments,\u00a0we stood with you.<\/p>\n
In 1990, President Bush stood\u00a0alongside President Havel\u00a0with\u00a0this\u00a0bell, a\u00a0replica\u00a0of the Liberty Bell\u00a0that rang to celebrate\u00a0our\u00a0newly independent nation.<\/p>\n
And as freedom reverberated throughout\u00a0Prague,\u00a0President Bush\u00a0made our connection clear, he said:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOur countries\u00a0share\u00a0a history.\u00a0\u00a0We\u00a0share\u00a0a vision.\u00a0\u00a0And we\u00a0share\u00a0a friendship.\u201d<\/p>\n
The\u00a0best of what we share, as Czechs and Americans,\u00a0with\u00a0friends and\u00a0allies\u00a0here in the\u00a0heart of Europe,\u00a0and\u00a0beyond, is the pursuit of independence\u00a0and\u00a0renewal,\u00a0over complacency\u00a0and stagnation.<\/p>\n
That same spirit\u00a0is driving both our people to the future.\u00a0\u00a0This year we watched in awe as the Artemis II\u00a0mission carried\u00a0mankind\u00a0further from earth than ever before.<\/p>\n
Ale\u0161 Svoboda will carry forward that pioneering spirit on his upcoming mission to the International Space Station, piloting a U.S. spacecraft, the first for a Czech astronaut, and the continuation of a proud history of Czech and American space exploration.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0American\u00a0founding fathers\u00a0provided the foundation of that journey to the stars. They\u00a0injected\u00a0vitality,\u00a0and\u00a0innovation,\u00a0into tradition.\u00a0\u00a0They\u00a0seized\u00a0a moment.\u00a0\u00a0They\u00a0played\u00a0a part in remaking the world, and\u00a0they\u00a0embraced\u00a0the responsibility\u00a0to\u00a0lead.<\/p>\n
That is the spirit of 1776 that we are here tonight to celebrate,\u00a0a\u00a0spirit that has stood the test of time,\u00a0and the spirit\u00a0I believe we all\u00a0carry\u00a0forward.<\/p>\n
Thank you\u00a0all for being with us\u00a0this evening,\u00a0thank you to everyone who made this event possible,\u00a0and happy Independence Day.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ambassador Merrick President Pavel, Ministers, Ambassadors, judges, distinguished guests,\u202fand friends.\u202f\u202fOn behalf of President Donald J. Trump, the U.S.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-711978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}