Shalva Papuashvili: Independence is a process, a daily struggle – if we do not want foreign servitude, if we want independence, if we want sovereignty and for “our own head to rest on our own shoulders,” we must understand what this means – this day is ours - Happy May 26th!

“Independence is a process, a daily struggle that never ends. If we do not want to be in foreign servitude, if we want independence, if we desire sovereignty and for ‘our own head to rest on our own shoulders,’ then we must understand what this means,” writes the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, as he congratulates the public on Georgia’s Independence Day.

As Papuashvili notes, independence is a process, a daily struggle that never ends.

“This day is ours!

Independence is a process, a daily struggle that never ends.

As long as we are alive, we fight, we work, we grow, and we cannot stop. Stopping means death, defeat, failure.

If we do not want to be in foreign servitude, if we want independence, if we desire sovereignty and for ‘our own head to rest on our own shoulders,’ then we must understand what this means.

We must understand and know the price of freedom, the significance of independence, the meaning of the flag, the coat of arms, and the state. We must understand how to follow our own path, not someone else’s dictates.

Freedom and independence are inherent concepts, a fundamental human need. Everything else is foreign and external.

There is what is ours, and there is what belongs to others. We must be able to distinguish between ours and theirs. This is precisely what patriotism is – the ability to differentiate between what is ours and what is theirs.

That is why this day is ours!

Happy May 26th – the day of our independence and freedom!” - writes Papuashvili on Facebook.