America turns 250 years old. This is a celebration of the birth of the country, but also of what changed the course of history. It is a tribute to the country's sacred text, a profound statement of values, and to its often, and rightfully, quoted words: "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
But it is also a recognition of what America has become since: a place where people found not only refuge, but also the opportunity to live their lives more freely and more boldly than elsewhere.
Among them have been many from Kosova, who over the centuries fled political persecution and found the chance to live the life they deserved, but had been denied elsewhere.
The ideals proclaimed 250 years ago did not remain within America's borders. They found resonance in Kosova's own struggle for freedom and self-determination, and, most importantly, in the unwavering support of the United States for our fight to secure those very rights.
We honor the country whose contribution to our own independence, and to our own fight for "unalienable rights," has been so deeply woven into our history that the aspirations of human freedom expressed by the United States have become our aspirations as well.
Happy Fourth, and happy 250th, America!