As readers here know, I do not routinely post the Secretary of State's many, thoughtful expressions of congratulations on the occasion of national days. I do when there is a special reason. We are entering a season of national days in the Americas beginning with our own Independence Day yesterday and Venezuela's today. Of course, the busy SOS found time to release a message which I am posting below. We sincerely do wish the people of Venezuela a safe and happy Independence Day, but that is not why I am posting this. It stands as an excellent example of the kind of careful wordsmithing we read and hear from our Secretary of State. Read it carefully. Then everybody should just stop saying that her comment about the Arizona law made in Ecuador last month was some kind of slip of the tongue. No one is more careful with words than Hillary Clinton. She says what she means and means what she says. Here is her lovely and very careful Happy Birthday to the People of Venezuela.
Venezuela's Independence Day
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateWashington, DCJuly 5, 2010On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Venezuela as you celebrate 199 years of independence on July 5.
The cultural ties between United States and Venezuela are deep and enduring, and it is fitting that we celebrate our independence anniversaries within one day of each other.
We share a common history of emancipation and democratic aspiration. Patriots across the Americas committed their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of independence and to ensure that all people would have the right to chart their own destinies. The development of our nations has been driven by common values and a belief in individual liberties, fundamental civil rights such as freedom of speech and expression, and a right to self-determination. Living up to these values is our shared responsibility.
As both the United States and Venezuela celebrate our independence days, let us recommit ourselves to the high ideals of our founders and to the promise of democracy. I wish all Venezuelan citizens everywhere a safe and happy independence day. And I hope that our cultural and familial bonds will only grow deeper in the years to come.
