In 2009, the Roosevelt Institute honored Hillary with the Four Freedoms Award.
Hillary Clinton Receives the Roosevelt Institute’s Four Freedoms Award
September 12, 2009
Remarks Upon Receipt of the Roosevelt Institute’s Four Freedoms Award at the Roosevelt Institute’s Four Freedoms Medals Gala Dinner
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateWaldorf-AstoriaNew York CitySeptember 11, 2009
SECRETARY CLINTON:... President Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms speech and the declaration, the real call to action that what he said still resonates through the years, shaped much of the work that Eleanor did on her own as she chaired the drafting committee for the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that enshrines the Four Freedoms in its preamble.SNIP,,, I think that so much that President Roosevelt said and did during another challenging time in American history stands very large today. Looking at what was done with economic and other difficulties here at home, the rallying of a nation to continue to believe in itself, the optimism that marked everything he did, and the vision that he articulated that helped Americans transcend their personal problems and the troubles of a nation provided a lodestar for every succeeding generation as to how to move forward in the face of adversity.
We bear that responsibility today. And we are called to respond as courageously, as he and his generation did. We therefore should ask ourselves now, as you’ve heard from our four honorees, just what the Four Freedoms mean. Times have changed. Circumstances have certainly altered. But the fundamental truth of the Four Freedoms stands as a stark reminder of what is expected of us. So that even though the circumstances may be different, our response and how we are guided in acting remains the same.
SNIP... In country after country after country, young men and women are persecuted, are singled out, even murdered in cold blood, because of who they love or just based on claims that they are gay. We are starting to track violence against the LGBT community, because where it happens anywhere in the world, the United States must speak out against it and work for its end. (Applause.) Through our annual human rights report, we are documenting human rights abuses against LGBT communities worldwide. And we are seeking out partners at the United Nations such as Brazil, France, Sweden and the Netherlands to help us address these human rights abuses.SNIPIn the future, we will be called to make sacrifices of our own. We may not be able now to foresee what they will be. But let us resolve to summon up that vision that Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt provided for their times which still is as important to our times. Let us forge again our commitment to carry on in service of these four universal and uniquely American freedoms.Read the speech >>>>
Of course! Four Freedoms Park! It is more than a nod to the Roosevelts. It is a validation of Hillary's values and very likely a foreshadowing of her platform. There probably are very few voters alive who remember FDR's Four Freedoms speech. These are the freedoms.
Friend --
Start spreading the news: The Hillary for America Official Campaign Launch will take place on June 13th in Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park in New York City -- and you can be there.
RSVP right now to secure your tickets.
This launch is going to be a truly special event -- thousands of Americans coming together to hear Hillary lay out her vision for the future of our country, all at one of the most spectacular locations you’ll ever see.
Trust me -- you don’t want to miss this.
RSVP to claim your free ticket:
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/your-ticket/
Thanks,
John
John Podesta
Chair
Hillary for America
The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.As we know, since she announced she would run, Hillary has visited some early primary and caucus states and met with voters. You probably did not have to be part of those conversations to be able to guess some of what Hillary heard. We do not know what Hillary will say in 2015 in Four Freedoms Park. We do know that in 1941 in his Four Freedoms Speech FDR said this.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way -- everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called “new order” of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
... there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy.He went on to outline a plan. Hillary will be doing the same thing on Roosevelt Island in a park dedicated to FDR and that speech. When you think about it, there was no more appropriate venue for this event. None!
The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:
Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
Jobs for those who can work.
Security for those who need it.
The ending of special privilege for the few.
The preservation of civil liberties for all.
The enjoyment -- The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.
These are the simple, the basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations.
Read the speech and hear the audio here >>>>
