Remarks Of Sen. Patrick Leahy
Naturalization Ceremony
Vermont State House
September 11, 2006
I am proud to share
this experience with you and with your families on such an important
day, and to welcome you as fellow United States citizens. This is a
marvelous tradition that Judge Sessions has started, and I am so
pleased to be a part of it again this year. I am also pleased that
Governor Douglas is with us here today to help mark this occasion.
For
all of us, September 11 will bring somber memories. We remember
those we lost and those whose heroism inspired us. When I think
back to those days, I think of the Vermont National Guard patrolling
the skies over New York and neighbors helping neighbors. I think of
the police, firefighters and emergency personnel who rushed into the
burning towers in New York and the brave passengers on United flight
93 over Pennsylvania and the other hijacked planes. We will never
forget how America came together and how the world stood with us.
It was not just Americans, but also an estimated 500 citizens from
more than 90 foreign countries who were the victims of terrorism on
that day.
With this ceremony
today, we will also associate September 11 with the joy,
accomplishment, idealism and patriotism of your becoming U.S.
citizens. We unite, again, as Americans dedicated to the values and
the diversity that makes America so special. I welcome, and we all
welcome you as part of our democracy, without regard to race,
religion, color, national origin, first language or culture. By so
doing, we demonstrate that we have not lost sight of what is best
about America and not lost our spirit. By so doing, by reaffirming
our values, we honor those we have lost.
To do otherwise
would be to concede victory to the terrorists. To succumb
to hatred is to lose our way.
Today, you renew the
promise of America as we celebrate your citizenship and your
commitment to the best ideals American represents.
An old friend of
mine and wonderful former Senator from Illinois, Paul Simon, long
had a family tradition of planting a tree on Election Day. Paul
used to say that the reason they started this tradition was so that,
whatever the election results, something good and lasting would come
from each Election Day. That is also how I feel about this
tradition that Judge Sessions has started, of convening
naturalization ceremonies on September 11. Thank you, Judge
Sessions.
For many Americans,
our citizenship was an accident. Not for you. In taking the
citizenship oath, you have made a conscious choice and determined
effort to be American citizens. As you take that oath to complete
your journey to citizenship, you join us in reaffirming the
character of our country. We are a nation of immigrants. Our
openness is part of our strength and vibrancy. That has not changed
and must not change.
As part of the
citizenship process, you have learned about our nation’s history.
You know that throughout our history, immigrants have come to the
United States in search of better lives, and each succeeding
generation has made America a stronger, more prosperous, and better
place. There are naturalized citizens who serve with me in
Congress, and as Federal judges. Not so long ago, a naturalized
citizen served as Governor of Vermont. Every day, immigrants play
vital roles in creating and sustaining our culture and our economy.
Citizenship in the
United States of America guarantees you many rights, including the
freedom of speech, the freedom to worship as you choose, the right
to vote, and the right to be free from discrimination based on the
country of your birth. Vermont is the 14th State in our
Union, having become a State the year the Bill of Rights was
adopted. Those rights and freedoms have always been important to
Vermonters.
This is a great
nation, and it is also a good nation. As each new generation of
Americans hews to our founding ideals, we honor the vision and the
sacrifices that have built and preserved this nation and what it
stands for. One of the Founders, Ben Franklin, warned that we must
not let fear compel us to trade in our ideals and our liberty.
There will always be those who would cater more to our fears than
to America’s everlasting values. But it is as clear to me today as
it has always been that liberty and security are not mutually
exclusive values. We can and must have both. All that we need is
the will to achieve it.
I hope you will also
see your citizenship as a responsibility, and that you will work to
make your communities, your State and your country better places to
live. I have faith you are all up to the challenge.
Your desire to
become citizens is a fresh reminder to those of us who were born
here about the promise of America. Like most Americans, I am
descended from people who, like you, started their lives in another
country and came here to seek a new beginning. I understand the
pride you and your families associate with this occasion.
America’s greatness
is much more than our country’s economic wealth or our military
might. America is great, because America is good. We strive to
live up to our founding ideals. We do not always succeed, but the
striving itself is part of the American character, and the striving
helps keep our course true. And now you are part of the interwoven
fabric of America.
I wish you every
good fortune in your new lives as citizens. I welcome and
congratulate you as fellow citizens of this great and good country,
the United States of America.
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