On this day, a great debt jolts within our thoughts, from within our souls and hearts, and through our minds and conscience. But this debt is not just a national obligation; it is a priviledge as well. One that belongs to the Greeks, who have built new Parthenons for centuries.
1821 and all its battles to the very end are not in the past. It is the present and the future. Those lessons have always been great messages, that the soft winds have taken them within their wings, and passed them on from generation to generation and from our thoughts and hearts, and laid them into our desires and hopes of today.
These messages, within the spirit of our national anniversary, inspire us to maintain the lights of our ethnic revival, to brighten the path of our race’s fate and our nation’s ideals. The ideals of our religion and nation with the strong belief of Kolokotronis and the prayers of Kanaris. To drive us to our path of duty and obligation.
The crisis that our nation is facing today has many similarities to 1821, and these transcending messages are necessary to guide us. Let us embrace unity, competitiveness, cohesiveness, and national solidarity, so that the difficult winter is followed by a nicer spring, away from the financial slavery that foreign powers, cheerleaders of globalization, are forcing upon us.
A great fire developed from the flame of March 25, which then lightened, not just the enslaved Greeks, but all enslaved peoples of those times as well. Our nation today has yet another great challenge, to lighten up another flame, not just to free ourselves, but also help free other European nations that are also enslaved under today’s world of impoverishment.
It is everybody’s duty to affirm to the graves of our fallen, that Greece will never die. Let us send a reminder that our Nation has gone through difficult periods throughout history, but when it needed to defend its freedom, its land, and its human dignity, we knew very well how to unite and revive ourselves from our ashes.
We, as Greeks, who live in this beautiful and strong country, have to be proud for the heroes of 1821, and always celebrate on 5th Avenue our great fame and achievements of those who spilled blood then, so that we can be free today.
Finally, let us cultivate the talents of our fighters of 1821, laity and clergy, whilst elevating our Greek and Christian strengths, our national beliefs, our virtues and ethnic values, and block the teachings of intolerance and division that are created and forced amongst us by our enemies. Let us always maintain our Greekness, for all Greeks and Greece itself. Our guide will be our knowledge of History; our belief, the belief in God and country; our compass, the virtues of our race; and our objective, the fate of our nation.
God bless our nation.
God bless the heroes of 1821.
God bless our Greek American Community.
And may God protect Greece and the United States of America.
President of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, Mr. Petros Galatoulas
