speech of independence day

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Patrice Lumumba
The First Prime Minister of the Congo (Zaire)
On June 30, 1960, Independence Day

Men and women of the Congo,
Victorious fighters for independence, today victorious, I greet you in the name of the Congolese Government. All of you, my friends, who have fought tirelessly at our sides, I ask you to make this June 30, 1960, an illustrious date that you will keep indelibly engraved in your hearts, a date of significance of which you will teach to your children, so that they will make known to their sons and to their grandchildren the glorious history of our fight for liberty.
For this independence of the Congo, even as it is celebrated today with Belgium, a friendly country with whom we deal as equal to equal, no Congolese worthy of the name will ever be able to forget that is was by fighting that it has been won [applause], a day-to-day fight, an ardent and idealistic fight, a fight in which we were spared neither privation nor suffering, and for which we gave our strength and our blood.
We are proud of this struggle, of tears, of fire, and of blood, to the depths of our being, for it was a noble and just struggle, and indispensable to put an end to the humiliating slavery which was imposed upon us by force.
This was our fate for eighty years of a colonial regime; our wounds are too fresh and too painful still for us to drive them from our memory. We have known harassing work, exacted in exchange for salaries which did not permit us to eat enough to drive away hunger, or to clothe ourselves, or to house ourselves decently, or to raise our children as creatures dear to us.
We have known ironies, insults, blows that we endured morning, noon, and evening, because we are Negroes. Who will forget that to a black one said "tu", certainly not as to a friend, but because the more honorable "vous" was reserved for whites alone?
We have seen our lands seized in the name of allegedly legal laws which in fact recognized only that might is right.
We have seen that the law was not the same for a white and for a black, accommodating for the first, cruel and inhuman for the other.
We have witnessed atrocious sufferings of those condemned for their political opinions or religious beliefs; exiled in their own country, their fate truly worse than death itself.
We have seen that in the towns there were magnificent houses for the whites and crumbling shanties for the blacks, that a black was not admitted in the motion-picture houses, in the restaurants, in the stores of the Europeans; that a black traveled in the holds, at the feet of the whites in their luxury cabins.
Who will ever forget the massacres where so many of our brothers perished, the cells into which those who refused to submit to a regime of oppression and exploitation were thrown [applause]?
All that, my brothers, we have endured.
But we, whom the vote of your elected representatives have given the right to direct our dear country, we who have suffered in our body and in our heart from colonial oppression, we tell you very loud, all that is henceforth ended.
The Republic of the Congo has been proclaimed, and our country is now in the hands of its own children.
Together, my brothers, my sisters, we are going to begin a new struggle, a sublime struggle, which will lead our country to peace, prosperity, and greatness.
Together, we are going to establish social justice and make sure everyone has just remuneration for his labor [applause].
We are going to show the world what the black man can do when he works in freedom, and we are going to make of the Congo the center of the sun's radiance for all of Africa.
We are going to keep watch over the lands of our country so that they truly profit her children. We are going to restore ancient laws and make new ones which will be just and noble.
We are going to put an end to suppression of free thought and see to it that all our citizens enjoy to the full the fundamental liberties foreseen in the Declaration of the Rights of Man [applause].
We are going to do away with all discrimination of every variety and assure for each and all the position to which human dignity, work, and dedication entitles him.
We are going to rule not by the peace of guns and bayonets but by a peace of the heart and the will [applause].
And for all that, dear fellow countrymen, be sure that we will count not only on our enormous strength and immense riches but on the assistance of numerous foreign countries whose collaboration we will accept if it is offered freely and with no attempt to impose on us an alien culture of no matter what nature [applause].
In this domain, Belgium, at last accepting the flow of history, has not tried to oppose our independence and is ready to give us their aid and their friendship, and a treaty has just been signed between our two countries, equal and independent. On our side, while we stay vigilant, we shall respect our obligations, given freely.
Thus, in the interior and the exterior, the new Congo, our dear Republic that my government will create, will be a rich, free, and prosperous country. But so that we will reach this aim without delay, I ask all of you, legislators and citizens, to help me with all your strength.
I ask all of you to forget your tribal quarrels. They exhaust us. They risk making us despised abroad.
I ask the parliamentary minority to help my Government through a constructive opposition and to limit themselves strictly to legal and democratic channels.
I ask all of you not to shrink before any sacrifice in order to achieve the success of our huge undertaking.
In conclusion, I ask you unconditionally to respect the life and the property of your fellow citizens and of foreigners living in our country. If the conduct of these foreigners leaves something to be desired, our justice will be prompt in expelling them from the territory of the Republic; if, on the contrary, their conduct is good, they must be left in peace, for they also are working for our country's prosperity.
The Congo's independence marks a decisive step towards the liberation of the entire African continent [applause].
Sire, Excellencies, Mesdames, Messieurs, my dear fellow countrymen, my brothers of race, my brothers of struggle-- this is what I wanted to tell you in the name of the Government on this magnificent day of our complete independence.
Our government, strong, national, popular, will be the health of our country.
I call on all Congolese citizens, men, women and children, to set themselves resolutely to the task of creating a prosperous national economy which will assure our economic independence.
Glory to the fighters for national liberation!
Long live independence and African unity!
Long live the independent and sovereign Congo!
[applause, long and loud]

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speech of environment

In the Seattle Times, November 13, 1996

A Green Campaign Speech for a Better Environment
by John A. Baden, Ph.D. and Douglas S. Noonan

Some day, a politician will offer reforms harmonizing environmental quality with responsible liberty and modest prosperity. This niche in our political ecology is vacant. Incentives to fill it have been weak.

This, however, is rapidly changing. Republican representative Sherwood Boehlert of NY said, "There were some valuable lessons learned by some who ignored environmental policy at their own peril." Celinda Lake, a Democrat pollster, explained in the past election, "the environment played a very important role". The incumbents who were defeated came from suburban and upscale districts. She notes: "The environment played a very heavy role in those districts."

But the candidates haven't yet caught up to the electorate. Democrats prefer "Nanny State" solutions to community conservation. Al Gore's learning curve for effective, efficient, and equitable environmental policy seems as flat as a pre-Galileo Earth Day.

Republicans, despite their 1994 "revolution", favor the exploiters and extractors. Dole was linked to ethanol-subsidy addict Archer Daniels Midland. Congress members including Helen Chenoweth and Tom DeLay bulldozed their favored corporate interests over environmental values. And Jack Kemp couldn't even pronounce the E.P.A.

Both parties are beholden to entrenched special interests. It seems elephants can't forget to plunder, and asses can't learn new ways.

Ross Perot's Reform Party doesn't even mention the environment. The upstart "Green Party" even with Ralph Nader, America's most famous professional agitator, won only 2.4% of California's vote. And Libertarian Party candidate Harry Browne did great on Internet polls, with a landslide in Cyber-America. But, like Perot, Browne's platform ignored environmental topics.

Here is a green campaign speech, available to all candidates. It's provided to candidates from all parties. Longer versions are available in FREE's "Green Blueprint for America," and a shorter version is found in "The Candidate's Guide to Environmental Issues" by Joe Bast of the Heartland Institute.

THE GREEN SPEECH
"I believe in protecting the environment. I believe in conservation and preservation, in parks and wilderness, in using, enjoying, and stewarding our natural environment. We all have a duty to make this world a safer and cleaner place.

"I'm proud of our progress in improving the environment. Since the first Earth Day, air is cleaner, water is cleaner, and many animals are rebounding. Lead emissions have virtually disappeared and water quality, especially in the Great Lakes, has greatly improved. The bald eagle and peregrine falcon have made dramatic recoveries.

"We can do better still. Problems of disappearing habitat, ineffective regulations, and new pollution require innovative policy tools. The easy solutions have already been implemented. Next, we must address insensitive and inefficient public lands management, unnecessarily high regulatory costs, and unintended consequences of environemental mandates. We need a new environmentalism for the 21st century.

"My environmental vision sees a safer and cleaner world. Its foundation is sound science rather than hysteria. Citizens are demanding policies that deliver the biggest "bang for the buck." Policies that fail to respect people's liberty and property will fail. We must, however, recognize that, at times, rights conflict. Is my clean air worth your job? My cheap power, your salmon? We can't avoid such trade-offs. Here are seven principles that will help us wisely and fairly achieve a better environment.


"1. Demand sound science:
Too often, crisis entrepreneurs create hysteria in order to drive their policies and increase their own budgets. Peer-reviewed science is critical to reform.
"2. Prioritize risks:
Our resources are limited, so we must get the most for our money. Cost-benefits analysis can help prioritize risk and first address the greatest risk to our health and to our environment. We want the most environmental benefit for the least cost.
"3. Decentralize decision-making:
Command-and-control, one-size-fits-all, centralized planning falsely assumes that all communities are identical. This approach stifles creativity and wastes scarce resources. Distant bureaucrats can't manage local environments with sensitivity or efficiency. Letting locals make decisions encourages innovation, learning, and responsibility. But locals must recognize regional and national interests.
"4. Carefully privatize some public assets:
Commodities should be produced by private interests who anticipate and respond to market signals. Amenitites should be preserved and made available by public trusts. The federal government should monitor and conduct research, not manage and redistribute to the well-organized. Bureaucracies tend to foster waste, corruption, and short-term political calculus.
"5. Respect property rights:
The Constitution requires due compensation when government takes or restricts private owners' property. When government is used as an engine of plunder, the plundered usually react. Unjust environmental policies build enemies of those whose cooperation is vital, like farmers, ranchers, and forest owners.
"6. Hold polluters accountable:
Courts can and should hold polluters responsible for the damage they cause. Let them scramble to find appropriate technology.
"7. Promote prosperity:
Demand for environmental quality is like that for BMWs, foreign travel, and gourmet food; it increases with education and income.

"The American public is committed to environmental quality. We've made much progress in that direction. To do more, we need to promote prosperity, secure property rights, and responsible freedom. These are values worthy of America's heritage and a bridge to a greener future. Thank you for your vote next Tuesday."

John A. Baden, Ph.D., is Chairman of FREE and Gallatin Writers.