Full Text of SR0123 102nd General Assembly
SR0123 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0123 | | LRB102 17349 MST 22840 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The people of ancient Greece developed the | 3 | | concept of democracy, in which the supreme power to govern was | 4 | | vested in the people; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The Founding Fathers of the United States, many | 6 | | of whom read Greek political philosophy in the original Greek | 7 | | language, drew heavily on the political experience and | 8 | | philosophy of ancient Greece in forming the representative | 9 | | democracy of the United States; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Petros Mavromichalis, the former | 11 | | commander-in-chief of Greece and a founder of the modern Greek | 12 | | state, said to the citizens of the United States in 1821, "It | 13 | | is in your land that liberty has fixed her abode, and … in | 14 | | imitating you, we shall imitate our ancestors and be thought | 15 | | worthy of them if we succeed in resembling you."; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, The Greek national anthem, the Hymn to Liberty, | 17 | | includes the words, "most heartily was gladdened George | 18 | | Washington's brave land"; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Few brave American Philhellenes took an active | 20 | | part in the Greek Revolution and became heroes of the Greek | 21 | | liberation struggle; and |
| | | SR0123 | - 2 - | LRB102 17349 MST 22840 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, The people of the United States generously | 2 | | offered humanitarian assistance to the people of Greece during | 3 | | their struggle for independence; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Greece heroically resisted the Axis Powers at a | 5 | | crucial moment in World War II, forcing Adolf Hitler to change | 6 | | his timeline and delaying the attack on Russia; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Winston Churchill said that "if there had not | 8 | | been the virtue and courage of the Greeks, we do not know which | 9 | | the outcome of World War II would have been" and "no longer | 10 | | will we say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes | 11 | | fight like Greeks";
and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Hundreds of thousands of the people of Greece | 13 | | were killed during World War II; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Greece consistently allied with the United States | 15 | | in major international conflicts throughout the 20th century; | 16 | | and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Greece is a strategic partner and ally of the | 18 | | United States in bringing political stability and economic | 19 | | development to the volatile Balkan region, having invested | 20 | | billions of dollars in the countries of the region and having |
| | | SR0123 | - 3 - | LRB102 17349 MST 22840 r |
|
| 1 | | contributed more than $750,000,000 in development aid for the | 2 | | region; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The government and people of Greece actively | 4 | | participate in peacekeeping and peace-building operations | 5 | | conducted by international organizations, including the United | 6 | | Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European | 7 | | Union, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in | 8 | | Europe; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Greece received worldwide praise for its | 10 | | extraordinary handling during the 2004 Olympic Games of more | 11 | | than 14,000 athletes and more than 2,000,000 spectators and | 12 | | journalists, a feat the government and people of Greece | 13 | | handled efficiently, securely, and with hospitality; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Greece, located in a region where Christianity | 15 | | meets Islam and Judaism, maintains excellent relations with | 16 | | Muslim countries and Israel; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Greece remains an integral part of the European | 18 | | Union; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, The government of Greece has taken important | 20 | | steps in recent years to further cross-cultural understanding, | 21 | | rapprochement, and cooperation in various fields with Turkey |
| | | SR0123 | - 4 - | LRB102 17349 MST 22840 r |
|
| 1 | | and has also improved its relations with other countries in | 2 | | the region, including Israel, thus enhancing the stability of | 3 | | the wider region; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The governments and people of Greece and the | 5 | | United States are at the forefront of efforts to advance | 6 | | freedom, democracy, peace, stability, and human rights; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Those efforts and similar ideals have forged a | 8 | | close bond between the people of Greece and the United States; | 9 | | and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, It is proper and desirable for the United States | 11 | | to celebrate March 25, 2021, Greek Independence Day and the | 12 | | bicentennial anniversary of the Greek Revolution against the | 13 | | Ottoman Turks, with the people of Greece and to reaffirm the | 14 | | democratic principles from which these two great countries | 15 | | were founded; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we extend our warm | 18 | | congratulations and best wishes to the people of Greece as | 19 | | they celebrate the 200th anniversary of the independence of | 20 | | Greece; and be it further | 21 | | RESOLVED, That we express our support for the principles |
| | | SR0123 | - 5 - | LRB102 17349 MST 22840 r |
|
| 1 | | of democratic governance to which the people of Greece are | 2 | | committed; and be it further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That we recognize the important role that Greece | 4 | | has played in the wider European region and in the community of | 5 | | nations since gaining its independence 200 years ago; and be | 6 | | it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That we declare 2021 as the Year of Friendship | 8 | | between Greece and the State of Illinois.
|
|