Dear Annie: Let freedom ring
Dear Readers: Wishing you all a very happy Fourth of July. I hope you enjoy the following quotes celebrating independence and freedom.
“We shall go wild with fireworks … and they will plunge into the sky and shatter the darkness.” – Natsuki Takaya
“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.” – Thurgood Marshall
“In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.” – Amy Tan
“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” – Bob Dylan
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
“Independence Day: freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
“We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.” – Robert J. McCracken
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” – Ronald Reagan
“True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.” – Albert Camus
“The essence of America – that which really unites us – is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion – it is an idea – and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.” – Condoleezza Rice
“Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.” – Herbert Hoover
“Who ever walked behind anyone to freedom? If we can’t go hand in hand, I don’t want to go.” – Hazel Scott
“What was important wasn’t the fireworks, it was that we were together this evening, together in this place, looking up into the sky at the same time.” – Banana Yoshimoto
“The fact is, with every friendship you make and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world.” – Michelle Obama
“I believe in America because we have great dreams, and because we have the opportunity to make those dreams come true.” – Wendell L. Wilkie
Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.