>From: Harry.Browne@...
>To: distribution@...
>Subject: President Browne declares a national holiday
>Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 16:08:08 -0500
>
>L i b e r t y W i r e
>
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>
>An Anniversary Worth Celebrating
>
> by Harry Browne
>
>Today, Monday, October 28th, should be a national
>holiday.
>
>In addition to being my wife's birthday, it is the
>anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of
>Liberty in 1886.
>
>As with most parts of American history, very few
>Americans are aware of the Statue's background.
>
>It was a gift from the French people to the
>American people. And when I say, "French people,"
>I mean it. It wasn't paid for with French taxes;
>the money was raised through voluntary donations,
>given freely by French people as a token of
>friendship to the United States.
>
>Why would they do that?
>
>Because _at that time_ the United States was truly
>unique. It was the one country in the world where
>individual liberty was prized far above "national
>greatness." And it was the one major country that
>didn't embroil itself in the endless wars the
>European people were so used to.
>
> How Times Change
>
>In the 1880s, people all over the world looked to
>America for inspiration. Its very existence was
>proof that it was possible to have a relatively
>free and peaceful country. No income tax, no
>foreign wars, no welfare state, no intrusions on
>civil liberties.
>
>Of course, that's no longer the case. We now have
>all those things -- and more. And, worse yet, most
>Americans have come to accept them as necessary
>evils. Government schools make no attempt to show
>children that it wasn't always this way -- that it
>doesn't have to _be_ this way.
>
> Liberty Alone
>
>When the Statue arrived in the U.S., Americans
>donated the money -- again, voluntarily -- to build
>the pedestal and assemble the Statue on Bedloe's
>Island in New York Harbor.
>
>The great monument isn't called the Statue of the
>World's Superpower, or the Statue of National
>Greatness, or the Statue of the World's Policeman.
>Because individual liberty was America's one
>possession so prized by others, the monument was
>named the Statue of Liberty.
>
>It is an impressive sight. Notice that Lady
>Liberty faces outward -- toward the world, not
>toward America. With her torch held high, she is
>reaching out to the world as the symbol of liberty
>-- bringing light and inspiration to people
>everywhere.
>
> The Statue's Message
>
>At the time of her creation, she was saying:
>
> "Whoever you are, wherever you are, if you can
> just get to America, you can be free. No matter
> what your station where you are now, you'll be
> equal before the law here.
>
> "No one will ask for your papers.
>
> "No one will fasten a number on you.
>
> "No one will extort a percentage of your income
> as the price of earning a living.
>
> "You'll be free to pursue the life you've always
> dreamed of."
>
>Emma Lazarus summed it up in those lovely words
>that are inscribed on the base of the Statue:
>
> Give me your tired, your poor,
> Your huddled masses yearning to be free,
> The wretched refuge of your teeming shore.
> Send these -- the homeless, tempest-tossed
> -- to me.
> I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door.
>
>That is the America we once had -- the beacon of
>liberty, providing light and hope and inspiration
>to the entire world -- the America we have forsaken
>for a mess of tasteless pottage.
>
>That is the America we _should_ have.
>
>And I am determined that it is the America we will
>someday have again.
>
>Harry Browne is Director of Public Policy for
>American Liberty Foundation. American Liberty
>Foundation seeks to be a beacon of liberty,
>an organization committed to mass marketing
>and popularization of libertarian ideals. If
>you like what you've just read, we hope you'll
>choose to join us and demonstrate your support.
>https://www.fbs.net/alf/web-contribute.cfm
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