Has there ever been a presidential speech more moving or memorable that than of Bill Pullman, who played fictional Pres. Thomas Whitmore in Independence Day? This I know: it’s iconic and I never get tired of watching it.
Read here for some of the fascinating history of all of the thought and work that went into that short speech. Did you know that it was actually supposed to be “just a placeholder.” From Complex.com:
“I went into the other room and literally in five minutes I whipped the speech out, put it into the script – we didn’t even read it. It was just a placeholder.” Dean Devlin
Watch below.
The transcript:
“Good morning. Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world, and you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. Mankind, that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences any more. We will be united in our common interest. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. We’re fighting for our right to live, to exist�and should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice, ‘We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on, we’re going to survive.’ Today we celebrate our independence day!”
President Thomas Whitmore
July 4th, 1996
