HomeMy WebLinkAbout03 200th Anniversary of Greek IndependenceWhereas, the people of ancient Greece developed the concept of democracy, in
which the supreme power to govern is vested in the people leading the founders of the
United States to draw heavily on the political experience and philosophy of ancient
Greece in forming the representative democracy of the United States; and
Whereas, individual American Philhellenes, including future abolitionist Dr.
Samuel Gridley Howe, future abolitionist Jonathan Peckham Miller, and George Jarvis,
traveled to Greece to fight alongside and provide aid to the Greek people in their struggle
for independence; and
Whereas, the people of the United States generously sent humanitarian
assistance to the people of Greece during their struggle for independence, often through
philhellene committees; and
Whereas, Greece heroically resisted Axis forces at a crucial moment in World
War II, forcing Adolf Hitler to change his timeline and delaying the attack on Russia; and
Whereas, Winston Churchill said that "if there had not been the virtue and
courage of the Greeks, we do not know which the outcome of World War II would have
been", and "no longer will we say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like
Greeks"; and
Whereas, the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, visited the United
States from January 5 to 8, 2020, and held meetings with members of Congress,
demonstrating the continued vitality and significance of the United States -Greece
relationship; and
Whereas, the Greek -American community has greatly contributed to American
society and has helped forge the strong ties between the United States and Greece and
it is proper and desirable for the United States to celebrate March 25, 2021, Greek
Independence Day, with the people of Greece and to reaffirm the democratic principles
from which those two great countries were founded.
Now, therefore, I, Kathleen Kelly, Mayor of the City of Palm Desert,
California, along with the entire City Council, do hereby proclaim the 251 day of March,
2021, as the
200th Anniversary of Greek Independence
in the City of Palm Desert and extend warm congratulations and best wishes to the people
of Greece as they celebrate the 200th anniversary of the independence of Greece and
commend the Greek -American community in Palm Desert for its contributions to the
United States and its role in our democratic institutions.