During his Memorial Day address Monday, at a ceremony honoring the sacrifice of fallen soldiers who perished defending America, President Joe Biden suggested that the nation has yet to realize its founding ideals, particularly equal opportunity.
Earlier Monday, Biden laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in solemn observance. He urged Americans to pause in gratitude to those who “gave their all in service to America.”
While Biden noted that the nation is “eternally grateful” for the deceased soldiers’ selflessness and commitment to their country, he also said that the project of preserving our democracy is unfinished and ongoing.
“We were built on an idea, the idea of liberty. An opportunity for all. We’ve never fully realized that aspiration of our founding, but every generation has opened the door a little wider,” he remarked.
Gradually, he said, America inches toward “including those who were excluded before.”
“It’s a mission handed down, generation to generation, the work of perfecting our union,” Biden added.
The president’s comments about America’s imperfect evolution come after Vice President Kamala Harris received bipartisan backlash for a social-media post ahead of the three-day weekend. In a tweet that has since been deleted, a photo of Harris was paired with the message “Enjoy the long weekend.” Republicans criticized Harris for failing to mention the meaning of the national holiday, which remembers veterans who died in battle.
“America has been forged in the fires of war, our freedom and the freedom of innumerable others has been secured by young men and women who answered the call of history and gave everything in the service of an idea. The idea of America is the greatest idea in the long history of humankind. An idea that we’re all created equal in the image of Almighty God. We’re all entitled to dignity as my father would say, and respect,” Biden continued.
“Democracy must be defended at all costs. For democracy makes all this possible. Democracy, that’s the soul of America. And I believe it’s a soul worth fighting for. So do you. A soul worth dying for. Heroes who lie in eternal peace in this beautiful place, this sacred place, they believe that too,” he said.
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