|
“THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JULY 26TH”
A Speech delivered by
Dr. J. Marsilius Flumo, President
The Association of Liberians in the Spokane Area (ALSA)
in observance of the 163rd Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Liberia
by the Liberian Association of Washington State (LAWS)
at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center
Seattle, Washington
July 23, 2010
The President, Madam Mai Kinnay; Vice President, Mr. Emmanuel Woart, and officers of the Liberian Association of Washington State; members of the Liberian community of Seattle and its environs, distinguished guests, my wife, Mrs. Margaret Flumo, and our children, friends, ladies and gentlemen.
I bring you greetings from Spokane, Washington, the place my family and I call our home away from home; the place where, perhaps like some of you, I occasionally, if not frequently, slip into nostalgia about the imperfect yet sweet Liberia that existed before December 24, 1989.
First, I would like to thank God for watching over and bringing us to Seattle safely. I would also like to thank you for honoring me with the privilege of addressing you on the occasion of the 163rd Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Liberia. Indeed I am truly humbled and doubly honored because as you probably know, the 163rd Independence Celebrations are being held in my home county of Nimba.
My fellow Liberians, you asked me to speak to you on the topic “THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JULY 26TH.” Considering the impact of the tragedy, that is, the Civil War our country endured for over 14 years, you could not have chosen a more appropriate topic. “THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JULY 26TH” is not only appropriate but also timely because it gives us an opportunity to reflect and refocus.
The word “SIGNIFICANCE” also means meaning, importance, implication, worth, impact, or consequence. Thus, “THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JULY 26TH” also means the meaning, importance, implication, worth, impact, or consequence of July 26th.
Liberia declared its independence on July 16, 1847. However, we celebrate our independence on July 26th because it was on that day that the Declaration of Independence was adopted and signed. The operative word is independence. In other words, when you asked me to speak on the topic “THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JULY 26TH,” you were, in essence, asking me to speak on “the significance of Liberia’s Independence.” Your topic is also appropriate and timely because it provides us a moment to zero in on the word “independence” and, in the process, discover why ideas and the words in which they are expressed matter.
On July 16, 1847, Liberia’s founding fathers declared the nation’s independence using colorful language almost similar to the language the United States used in declaring its independence from Great Britain. In the excerpts that follow, you will hear not only the justifications that precipitated Liberia’s Declaration of Independence but also sense a mood that the colonists had reached a point of intellectual and social maturity warranting self-rule and self-determination.
“… We, the representatives of the people of the commonwealth of Liberia, in convention assembled, invested with the authority of forming a new government, relying upon the aid and protection of the Great Arbiter of human events, do hereby in the name and on behalf of the people of this commonwealth, publish and declare the said commonwealth a free, sovereign, and independent state, by the name and title of the Republic of Liberia.” [i]
In leaving no room for speculations that they were acting on frivolous grounds, Liberia’s founding fathers provided reasons why they left the United States—the land of their nativity—to settle on the “barbarous coast” of West Africa.
We, the people of the Republic of Liberia, were originally inhabitants of the United States of North America. In some parts of that country we were debarred by law from all rights and privileges of man - in other parts, public sentiment, more powerful than law, frowned us down. We were excluded from all participation in the government. .. taxed without our consent; …compelled to contribute to the resources of a country which gave us no protection; …made a separate and distinct class, and against us every avenue of improvement was effectively closed. Strangers from other lands, of a color different from ours, were preferred before us. We uttered our complaints, but they were unattended to …All hope of a favorable change in our country was thus wholly extinguished in our bosoms, and we looked with anxiety for some asylum from the deep degradation. ..Removed beyond those influences which oppressed us in our native land, it was hoped we would be enabled to enjoy those rights and privileges and exercise and improve those faculties which the God of nature has given us in common with the rest of mankind. [ii]
Drawing from the Declaration of Independence of the United States, they went on, “… We recognize in all men certain inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, and the right[s] to acquire, possess, enjoy, and defend property. …The right, therefore, to institute government and powers necessary to conduct it is an inalienable right and cannot be resisted without the grossest injustice.” [iii]
Abundantly explicit in Liberia’s Declaration of Independence, my fellow Liberians, is a far more powerful and meaningful declaration that is not often talked about. And that is the Declaration of Responsibility. I am not making this up! It is in the text of Liberia’s Declaration of Independence. I am talking about the oath our founding fathers took by which all of us are obligated to abide. I am talking about the promise they made that all of us are duty-bound to keep.
Indeed you and I know that just as blacks were omitted from the Articles of Confederation, the document that preceded the Constitution of the United States of America, [iv] so did Liberia’s founding fathers omit the natives, the original inhabitants of Liberia in the Declaration of Independence. We have all read in the history of Liberia the painful accounts of treatments meted out to the natives. I have had more than a sting with discrimination in my own country. Yet the troubled events in our history and our personal experiences do not vitiate the power and importance of the Declaration of Independence and Responsibility. It is the document that birthed the country we all claim today. We cannot claim Liberia and free ourselves from the obligations of the oath taken upon its birth. That is why your topic, “THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JULY 26 TH” is appropriate and timely.
Liberia’s founding fathers said that, “In assuming the momentous responsibilities of the position they have taken, the people of this republic feel justified by the necessities of the case.” [v] They also said that, “In coming to the shores of Africa, we indulged the pleasing hope that we would be permitted to exercise and improve those faculties which impart to man his dignity; to nourish in our hearts the flame of honorable ambition; to cherish and indulge these aspirations which a beneficent Creator had implanted in every human heart…” [vi] In these words, without a doubt, they took an oath that the people of Liberia would educate themselves and do those things that would lift Liberia up.
“We were animated by the hope that here we should be at liberty to train up our children in the way that they should go; to inspire them with the love of an honorable fame; to kindle within them the flame of a lofty philanthropy, and to form strongly within them the principles of humanity, virtue, and religion.” [vii] In these words, too, they took an oath to raise their children properly, to instill in them the upbringing and education that would make them productive citizens.
In the Declaration of Responsibility, Liberia’s founding fathers took an oath not only for themselves but also for us and future generations that we all would be answerable or accountable to the people we serve; that we all would develop our faculties and have capacities for moral decisions, rational thought or action; that we all would be reliable or dependable.
Fellow Liberians, we are gathered here today to celebrate Liberia’s 163rd Independence Anniversary. I did not come here to tell you what you already know. We all know that independence is freedom, that is, freedom from control or outside influences. However, I am here today because you asked me to speak on the topic “THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JULY 26TH.” I stopped by, my friends, to have a conversation about the significance of July 26th, that is, the Declaration of Responsibility.
We cannot enjoy July 26th; we cannot enjoy our independence, that is, our freedom unless we fulfill our obligations or keep our promise of upholding the Declaration of Responsibility which is set out explicitly in our founding document. Our Declaration of Responsibility imposes upon each of us to be responsible to ourselves, to our children, to our neighbors, and to our environment. These, together, are what Liberia is made of.
We have to be responsible to ourselves! We cannot quit on ourselves, fail to educate ourselves, let the faculties God gave us go to waste and claim to love Liberia. I did not make that up! The founding fathers promised to develop the faculties God gave them. The burden of upholding that promise is even more stringently imposed on those of us whom God lifted out of the inferno in Liberia and planted on this land, where educational institutions open their doors to all who hunger for knowledge and are willing to work hard. Being responsible to ourselves means that we have to look after our minds and bodies; it also means being selective about what to eat, read, watch, and hear because the foods we eat maintain our bodies and physical health while the things we hear, watch, read, etc. make up our disposition and affect our capacities for moral decisions as well as rational thought or action.
We have to be responsible to our children! We cannot bring children into this world and abandon them yet claim to love Liberia. No, we cannot and should not! Our responsibility to our children is one area where we can make the most impact on Liberia. Caring for, protecting, and reading to our children especially when they are young are examples of being responsible to our children. That means letting go of the good times, letting go of hanging out with friends, and staying at home to provide structures for our children. Those of you who understand and put this into practice understand the significance of July 26th, the meaning of independence, the importance of freedom.
Some people before us raised their children and produced leaders whose decisions and actions led to the disintegration of our country which resulted in our coming to the United States. Some of us are too busy working to maintain certain lifestyles and, in the process, are seldom at home to raise our children. In these instances, when our unattended children follow the wrong crowds and end up in jail, it is all of a sudden a surprise.
We have to be responsible to our neighbors. We cannot lie on people we do not like, break other people’s homes, and turn around and claim to love Liberia. We cannot be jealous of our neighbor’s achievements and good things and claim to love Liberia. Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, “for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction” also applies to social relations. Treat the world gently and the world will treat you gently. Smile and speak kindly to others and they will do the same to you.
Finally, when we return home, let us remember the role of the environment in our lives. We must learn how to take care of the land that God gave us in order that it may continue to sustain us and future generations.
In closing, remember that the significance of July 26th is our responsibility to ourselves, our children, our neighbors, and the environment. It is not a matter of choice; we are obligated by oath to uphold the Declaration of Independence, that is, the Declaration of Responsibility even when no one is looking.
Thank you and God bless Liberia and the United States
[iv] Source: Sharpes, D. K. (1987). Education and the US Government. New York: St. Martin’s Press
Editor’s Note: Dr. J. Marsilius Flumo is the President of the Association of Liberians in the Spokane Area (ALSA) and can be reached at BlodahMarsiliusFlumoJr@comcast.net.
|
