Message on the Observance of Independence Day, 1998

I am delighted to join my fellow Americans across the nation and around the world in celebrating Independence Day.

Throughout the year, we set aside special times to remember and celebrate our different ethnic roots. But on Independence Day, we rejoice in our common heritage as Americans and in the values and history we share.

We have all benefited from the wisdom of our nation's founders, who crafted a blueprint for democracy that has served us well for more than 200 years and continues to inspire newly independent nations around the world. We are all heirs to the rights articulated in our Constitution and reaffirmed by courageous men and women of every generation who have struggled to secure justice and equality for all. We are all forever indebted to the millions of Americans in uniform who have shed their blood to defend our freedom and preserve our values across America and around the globe.

But we Americans are bound together not only by a shared past, but also by a common future. Blessed with peace and prosperity, we have an unprecedented opportunity to prepare for the challenges of the next century: to keep America free and secure, to improve health care and education, to bring the opportunities of the Information Age into every home and classroom, and to strengthen the bonds of our national community as we grow more racially and ethnically diverse.

On this Independence Day, as we celebrate our rights and freedoms and look forward to a new century of limitless possibilities, Hillary joins me in wishing you a wonderful Fourth of July.

BILL CLINTON