[Pages S14575-S14576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 73--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS
REGARDING FREEDOM DAY
Mr. LIEBERMAN submitted the following concurrent resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:
S. Con. Res. 73
Whereas on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down
by those whom it had imprisoned;
Whereas the fall of the Berlin Wall has become the
preeminent symbol of the end of the Cold War;
Whereas the Cold War, at is essence, was a struggle for
human freedom;
Whereas the end of the Cold War was brought about in large
measure by the dedication, sacrifice, and discipline of
Americans and many other peoples around the world united in
their opposition to Soviet Communism;
Whereas freedom's victory on the Cold War against Soviet
Communism is the crowning achievement of the free world's
long 20th century struggle against totalitarianism; and
Whereas it is highly appropriate to remind Americans,
particularly those in their formal educational years, that
America paid the price and bore the burden to ensure the
survival of liberty on this planet: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) a Freedom Day should be celebrated each year in the
United States; and
(2) the United States should join with other nations,
specifically including those which liberated themselves to
help end the Cold War, to establish a global holiday called
Freedom Day.
Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, we have just marked the 10th
anniversary of the fall of the Berln Wall, one of the most important
milestones of our era. In honor of this event, I am submitting a
resolution urging that a ``Freedom Day'' be celebrated each year in the
United States. It also calls on the United States to work with other
nations to establish a global holiday called ``Freedom Day.'' The House
already passed an identical resolution, introduced by my friend House
Policy Chairman Christopher Cox, by a vote of 417-0, and it is my hope
that we can pass it in the Senate before adjournment.
A decade later, it is sometimes easy to forget the profound
significance of November 9, 1989, the day that Berlin Wall came down.
It was the symbolic end of four decades of a Cold War that had
dominated our foreign and defense policies and threatened international
stability. The Cold War's end was a resounding success for the United
States and the international community, that set off a worldwide
movement toward greater democratization and the embrace of free
markets.
In the United States, credit for this success can be generously
distributed to generations of American leaders, both Democrats and
Republicans, who never wavered in their courageous determination to
contain the Soviet Union and resist totalitarianism. The end of the
Cold War was truly a bi-partisan effort and a national achievement, and
is a model of cooperation that we should not forget as we seek to
address the international concerns we face now and in the future.
The fall of the wall was a transcendent moment in the struggle
against totalitarianism and for democracy, a smashing victory for the
human spirit and the cause of human rights. It is only fitting that we
choose the anniversary of this epochal triumph to honor and celebrate
freedom's march of progress across the planet.
This effort to establish a ``Freedom Day,'' in recognition of the end
of the Cold War, was inspired by my good friend Ben Wattenberg, Senior
Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a long time champion of
freedom and democracy. His recent column entitled ``moving Forward With
Freedom Day'' is particularly noteworthy.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the complete text of Mr.
Wattenberg's column be inserted in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Moving Forward With Freedom Day
Ten years ago, on Nov. 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was
battered down by the people it had imprisoned. The event is
regarded as the moment the Cold War ended. For Americans
without sentiment memories of World War II, the end of the
Cold War has been the most momentous historical event of
their lifetimes, and so it will likely remain.
Long yearned for, the end of the Cold War has more than
lived up to expectations: Democracy is on the march globally,
defense budgets are proportionately down, market economies
are beginning to flourish most everywhere, everyday people
are benefiting each and every day.
The end of the Cold War actually was a process, not an
event. By early 1989, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev had
pulled his troops from Afghanistan, whipped. Poles elected a
noncommunist government; the Soviets did nothing. Hungary,
Czechoslovakia, East Germany and later Bulgaria installed
non-communist governments. It was called ``the velvet
revolution,'' with only Romania the exception; Nicolae
Ceausescu and his empress were executed.
For almost two years, the U.S.S.R. remained a one-party
communist state, gradually eroding. Hard-liners attempted to
resist the slow motion dis-memberment. On Aug. 19, 1991,
Boris Yeltsin stood on a tank to resist a hard-line coup. The
hammer-and-sickle came down; the Russian tricolor went up.
Other Soviet republics declared independence, including the
big guy on the block, Ukraine.
U.S. diplomats did not ``gloat'' about it. The sovereign
state of Russia would be unstable enough without the United
States rubbing it in.
On Dec. 4, 1991, I proposed in a column that a new national
holiday be established to
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commemorate the end of the Cold War. I asked readers to
participate in a contest to: 1. Name it; 2. pick a date; and
3. propose a method of celebration.
Several hundred submissions came in. Some of the most
imaginative entries for a name were: ``Defrost Day,'' ``Thaw
Day,'' ``Ronald Reagan Day,'' ``Gorbachev Day,'' ``Borscht
Day,'' ``Peace Through Strength Day,'' ``E Day'' (which would
stand for ``Evil Empire Ends Day''), ``E2D2'' (``Evil Empire
Death Day''), ``Jericho Day,'' ``Pax Americana Day'' and
``Kerensky Future Freedom Day'' (recalling that Mr. Yeltsin
was not the first pro-democratic leader of Russia).
Scores of respondents offered ``Liberty Day,'' ``Democracy
Day,'' and, mostly, ``Freedom Day.'' In June of 1992, I
publicly proclaimed '`Freedom Day'' the winner.
One suggestion for the date of the new holiday was June 5,
for Adam Smith's birthday. But the most votes went for Nov.
9, the day the wall fell. So today I proclaim that date
Freedom Day.
There were ideas about how to celebrate and commemorate
Freedom Day: Build a sibling sculpture to the statue of
Liberty; eat potatoes, the universal food; build a tunnel to
Russia across the Bering Strait; thank God for peace; welcome
immigrants; meditate; issue a U.N. stamp; build ice
sculptures; send money to feed Russians; and do something you
can't do in an unfree country--make a public speech, see a
dirty movie, celebrate a religion, travel across a border.
I propose that discussion on the matter of how to celebrate
be put on hold until we get the holiday established.
How? Because all the major presidential candidates
participated in the Cold War, they should endorse the
holiday. Legislators ought to push for it. Anyone who worked
in a defense industry, or paid federal taxes from 1945 to
1989, ought to support it. President Clinton ought to go to
the Reagan Library to endorse it.
I met with Mark Burman of the Reagan Presidential
Foundation. He says they are on board for a campaign. The
other great presidential libraries--Truman, Eisenhower,
Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter--should join in.
So should anyone concerned with the teaching of American
history. The holiday will remind American children that their
recent ancestors preserved freedom. The Cold War generation
may not be ``the greatest'' but they did their job--victory
without a major hot war.
Americans can only create an American holiday. But we ought
to invite all other countries to join in, Russia first. The
citizens of Russia won the Cold War as surely as we did. If I
were a Chinese dissident I'd promote the idea; it might give
their leaders a clue.
If you like the idea, or have ideas, you may e-mail me at
Watmail@aol.com. I'll pass the correspondence along to the
appropriate persons, as soon as I figure out who they are.
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