Dunn Recommends Country’s New Motto

Dunn Recommends Country’s New Motto

By Julius Konton

Reverend Emmett Dunn has recommended to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to appoint a national commission that would draft a new motto for the country.

At present, the country’s motto: “The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here,” has garnered controversies due to its understanding by indigenous Liberians. Previously, some Liberians have proposed the motto to read: “The Love of Liberty Met Us Here,” and so forth.

Rev. Collins served as the national orator for this year’s (178^th) Independence Day hosted in Monrovia.

Mr. President, with deep respect and a sincere love for our country, I appeal to your leadership to take a historic and unifying step, to appoint a national commission tasked with proposing a new motto for the country. This request is not made lightly, nor is it new. It is a call that has echoed for decades among Liberians who yearn for a national identity that is inclusive, representative, and reflective of the values and aspirations of all our people.

Dunn said, the current national motto: “The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here,” speaks to the legacy of the freed settlers, who arrived on our shores in the 19^th century. While this history is an inseparable part of our national story, the motto fails to recognize or speak to the lived experience, identity, and heritage of the vast majority of Liberians. They include the indigenous populations whose ancestors were already here, who endured the consequences of exclusion, and who have contributed immeasurably to the building of our nation.”

A national motto, Rev. Dunn said, should be more than a relic of history; it should be a source of shared pride, unity, and vision.

He adds: “Liberia today is a diverse republic made up of many ethnic groups, religions, and backgrounds, all of whom deserve to see themselves reflected in the words that define our national purpose and spirit.”

“Mr. President, you are uniquely positioned to lead this long-overdue change. Your life story, your public service, and your presidency symbolize reconciliation, inclusion, and the healing of historical divides. Appointing a commission, inclusive of historians, cultural leaders, linguists, youth representatives, and civil society, to engage the public and develop a new motto would be a powerful gesture of unity.

Though he not write a new perceived motto for the country, Collins’ request has been echoed for decades, especially among Liberians, who yearn for an inclusive international identity.

He informed Pres. Boakai that is was now uniquely positioned to lead a “long overdue initiative.”

Rev. Collins challenged the President to change the lives of Liberians, adding: change your life, story, your public service, your precedence say, symbolizes reconciliation, inclusion, and the healing of historical divides; a point in a commission inclusive of historians, cultural leaders, linguists, youth representative, and civil society to engage the public and develop the new motto.