Thank You So Much Thank You
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00:05thank you00:12thank you so much thank you00:15thank you very much00:18thank you please please have seat thank00:20you Chicago00:27hello Greece thats us00:36got a spitter00:41to the government and the people of00:43Greece including Prime Minister tsipras00:46who I thanked for his partnership and00:48for being here along with so many young00:51people the future of Greece I want to00:54thank you for your warm and generous00:57welcome as many of you know this is my01:01final trip overseas as president the01:03United States and I was determined on my01:07last trip to come to Greece01:11partly because Ive heard about the01:15legendary hospitality of the Greek01:18people your if you look Sonia01:29partly because I had to see the01:31Acropolis and the Parthenon but also01:37because I came here with gratitude for01:40all that Greece this small great world01:44has given to humanity through the ages01:49our hearts have been moved by the01:52tragedies of aeschylus and Euripides our01:56minds have been opened by the histories01:58of Herodotus and Thucydides our02:03understanding of the world and our place02:06in it has been expanded by Socrates and02:09Aristotle in the United States were02:13especially grateful for the friendship02:16of so many proud Greek Americans in my02:19hometown of Chicago you can find them in02:26Greek town with their food sanella02:34and together weve celebrated Greek02:37independence day at the White House02:39weve had some spanakopita and some ouzo02:45Greek Americans have worn the uniform to02:48keep our country free Greek Americans02:52have marched with dr. Martin Luther King02:54jr. to make us more just Greek or03:00American were all cheering for Yanis03:03attenti kupo whos03:12who seems to be getting better each year03:15and if anyone seeks an example of our03:18shared spirit our resilience they need03:22to look no further than New York City03:25near Ground Zero where the Greek03:27Orthodox Church of st. Nicholas once in03:31ruins is now rising again most of all03:37were indebted to Greece for the the
03:39most precious of gifts the truth the03:43understanding that as individuals of03:45free will we have the right and the03:47capacity to govern ourselves for03:57or was here 25 centuries ago in the04:02rocky hills of this city that a new idea04:05emerged Democrat Thea Caracas cantos the04:20power the right to rule comes from04:23Themis the people the notion that we are04:28citizens not servants but stewards of04:31our society the concept of citizenship04:35that we have both rights and04:38responsibilities the belief in equality04:42before the law not just for a few but04:48for the many not just for the majority04:52but also the minority these are all04:56concepts that grew out of this rocky04:58soil of course the earliest forms of05:03democracy here in Athens were far from05:05perfect just as the early forms of05:08democracy in the United States were far05:10from perfect the rights of ancient05:14Athens were not extended to women or to05:16slaves but Pericles explained our05:20Constitution favors the many instead of05:23the few this is why it is called a05:25democracy Athenians also knew that05:30however noble ideas alone were not05:33enough to have meaning principles must05:36be enshrined in laws and protected by05:38institutions and advanced through civic05:40participation and so they gathered in a05:43great assembly to debate and decide05:46affairs of state each citizen with the05:49right to speak casting their vote with a05:52show of hands or choosing a pebble white05:54fur yes black fur no laws were edged in