Freedom can hardly be explained except for to say that one can do anything which does not hurt his fellowman. George W. Bush said the following: “Captive Nations Week was first observed in 1959, at a time when Soviet Communism seemed ascendant. Few people at that first gathering could have envisioned then what the — that the Cold War would end the way it did — with the triumph of the shipyard workers in Poland, a Velvet Revolution in Prague, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union. Captive Nations Week is a chance for us to reflect on that remarkable history, and to honor the brave dissidents and democracy activists who helped secure freedom’s victory in the great ideological struggle of the 20th century.
President George W. Bush delivers remarks on the Freedom Agenda Thursday, July 24, 2008, in Washington, D.C. White House photo by Chris Greenberg Captive Nation Week is also a chance to reflect on the challenges we face in the 21st century — the challenge of the new ideological struggle against violent extremism. In this struggle, we can go forward with confidence — free nations have faced determined enemies before and have prevailed, and we will prevail again. “