English subtitles for clip: File:President Obama on Greek Independence Day.webm

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Archbishop Demetrios:
Mr. President, it is a joy and
a privilege that we are your

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guests at the White House
once again as we mark the 190th

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Anniversary of the
Greek Revolution of 1821,

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and the 25th Anniversary
of the celebration of Greek

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Independence Day
at the White House.

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Thank you for the honor that
your invitation bestows not only

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on us, but on all Greek
Orthodox Americans.

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The Day of Greek Independence is
celebrated throughout the Greek

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American community with
joyous gatherings and solemn

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declaration that God had put
down the mighty from their

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thrones and exalted to the
humble even as we eat in

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the Gospel of Luke.

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Our presence here at the home of
the leader of the free world is

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both a celebration of this sacred
word and an actual fulfillment.

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The proclamation that you signed tells the same story of an

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incredible reversal of fortunes.

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Prior to March 25, 1821, the
Greek people were in a condition

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of abject oppression
lasting four centuries.

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Under Ottoman occupation,
they lived in poverty and

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religious oppression,
deprived of human dignity.

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From them, in essence, every
good thing has been taken away

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-- everything, that is,
except their faith --

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they never lost their faith in
the God who exalts the humble

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and opposes the arrogant.

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With that faith
came heroic courage;

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with that faith came a spirit
of amazing self-sacrifice;

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with that faith came the
visionary foresight to hope and

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to strive for a day when their
children and grandchildren could

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-- without fear -- sing songs of
victory and freedom and rejoice

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over the exaltation of the
lowly and the overthrow of the

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haughty and the mighty.

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Mr. President, your proclamation
honors those faithful patriots

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of 1821.

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But it also issues a challenge to us in our world in the

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present day: Every March 25th,
we celebrate the miraculous

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reversal of fortunes not only
for a single generation of

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Greeks, but as an expression of
divine justice that will occur

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by God's grace in
every generation.

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We cannot champion this idea
without then asking ourselves

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where we are today to the extent
that we do not raise our voices

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on behalf of the downtrodden
and the oppressed;

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to the extent that we do not
share our blessings with the

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needy and the destitute; to the
extent that we do not provide

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freedom and dignity to the
enslaved and the exploited by

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tyrannical regimes;
to that same event,

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we set ourselves alongside
the arrogant and mighty,

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with the result that we invite
upon ourselves their same

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ultimate fatal destiny.

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For this reason, Mr. President,
please know that you and your

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family remain in our fervent
prayers as you lead our great nation.

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May God grant you wisdom and
courage as you contend daily

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with tremendous challenges in
our own land and around the world.

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May your voice be strong
and clear in advocating the

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democracy and freedom for all
people based on the principles

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of self-determination, religious
freedom, and the rule of law.

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We take this opportunity today
to thank you personally for your

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continued, specific leadership
in matters relating to the

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rights of our Ecumenical Patriachate in Turkey,

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for the safety and freedom of
religious minorities in places

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of oppression, for satisfactory
and fair political solution in

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Cyprus and FYROM,
in the Balkans,

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and for the success of
democratic movements in all

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parts of the world.

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Not only do we thank
you, Mr. President,

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but we also offer the support of
the Greek Orthodox community of

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America to your efforts to
provide aid to the victims of

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the huge, catastrophic events --
like the tsunami in Japan --

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to establish stability to
our economy and environmental

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well-being in our planet, and
to assist the people of Northern

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Africa, Near, Middal and Far East in their noble fights

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for freedom and democracy.

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Indeed, in every way that you
are laborious of the reversal

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of fortunes of the oppressed, we
ask for the honor of being your

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fellow workers;
for this is, for us,

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the truest celebration of the
spirit of the 25th of March and

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the Day of Greek Independence.

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Again, Mr. President, thank you,
and may the blessing of the Lord

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be richly upon you,
your beloved family,

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and our noble
nation of America.

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Thank you, sir.

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(applause)

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The President:
Thank you so much.

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Thank you.

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(applause)

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Well, good evening, everybody.

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Audience:
Good evening.

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The President:
Kalispera.

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Audience:
Kalispera.

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(laughter)

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The President:
Thank you, your Eminence,
for the kind introduction.

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It is always an honor to welcome
you here in the White House.

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We've been friends for
quite some time now,

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and his Eminence always displays
such grace and good humor and is

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so generous.

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We are so very grateful
for your leadership.

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It is a wonderful pleasure to
see so many friends and leaders

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of the Hellenic American
community here as we celebrate

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the 190th anniversary
of Greek independence.

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(applause)

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I want to acknowledge
several people.

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First of all, we've got some
members of Congress here:

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Michael Grimm from New York.

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Where's Michael?

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There he is.

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(applause)

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Carolyn Maloney,
also from New York.

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(applause)

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John Sarbanes, from Maryland.

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(applause)

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And then we have another guy
-- I don't know if he's any

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relation -- Paul Sarbanes,
also of Maryland.

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(applause)

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We've got Ambassador Demetrios
Marantis, Deputy USTR.

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(applause)

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He's got a few fans here.

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We've got Nicholas Karacostas --

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(applause)

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-- the President of the
American Hellenic Educational

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Progressive Association.

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I want to especially welcome
Deputy Foreign Minister Dollis

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for traveling all the way here
from Athens to join us today.

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(applause)

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I spoke with your
Prime Minister,

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our good friend Mr.
Papandreou today,

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and I wanted him to extend our
congratulations to the entire

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Greek nation.

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And we very much appreciate
you being here to represent

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your government.

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We are also joined here by
Greek Ambassador Kaskarelis.

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Where is he?

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There he is.

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Good to see you, Mr. Ambassador.

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(applause)

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We have the Cypriot
Ambassador, Anas-- aww --

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(laughter)

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-- Anastasiades --
there you go --

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(laughter)

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-- and his wife Maria.

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(applause)

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Tonight we reaffirm the bond our
two nations have shared for as

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long as we've existed.

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Our Founding Fathers were
students of Greek philosophy and

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Greek history, drawing on Greek
principles to guide our own

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nation in its earliest days.

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When it was time for Greek
revolutionaries to fight for

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freedom, they looked to the United
States for strength and support.

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And to this day, the United
States and Greece shares a bond

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rooted in common values
and common ideals.

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As allies, we stand together --
not only for our own security,

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but for the freedom of
peoples around the world.

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Right now, Greek and American soldiers
are serving together in Afghanistan.

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And as we celebrate the
independence of the Greek

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people, the United States and
Greece are standing with our

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NATO allies to support the
Libyan people as they stand

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up for their own freedom.

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So I just want to express the
extraordinary thanks that I give

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to the people of Greece
for their friendship,

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and for their contributions to
the life of our nation and so

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many others.

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I also obviously want to say
to all my great friends in the

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Greek American community, how
much I appreciate your support

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and your friendship, and I'm
glad that we have one more

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occasion to celebrate together
here in the White House.

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So it's wonderful
to see you again,

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and I hope you guys
have a great time today.

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All right?

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Thank you very much, everybody.

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God bless you.

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(applause)