(Picture credit: Alan Glassman; Tom talking to the students)
As I pointed out here, I met up and interviewed / was interviewed by students from the Fellowship Christian Academy. During that time, they informed me that they were participating in the VFW’s Voice of Democracy; I offered to post their papers. Here is the second paper (Previous paper: Peter).
Guest post by Maggie:
Does my generation play a role in America’s future? Asked this, the majority of high school students in the United States would answer, “no. probably not.” After all, they can’t vote, don’t make laws, and know next to nothing about politics. However, the truly vitalizing fact is that not only do we play a role in America’s future, we ARE America’s future.
Walk up to a high school student and ask that student what year we broke free of British control and became a country. Ask them who General Lee or Nathan Hale was. Ask them in what year the civil war was fought or what the Bill of Rights is. I can guarantee you that most of them will not provide you with correct answers. They don’t know. Why? Why should the youth in this country be so negligent in their knowledge of the tremendous history of the United States? The answer is simple- because they have not been taught. The majority of public schools in the U.S. no longer teach American History. Instead of American History, their minds are being filled with things such as “global thought”, “world peace”, and “critical thinking”. The media has perverted the minds of the young by telling them it is people like Lady Gaga, Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna, and Tiger Woods who should be honored rather than those who left their families and are now fighting across the ocean to prevent them ever having to experience a 9/11 in their own neighborhood.
As a result, students are completely oblivious to their heritage. The youth of America don’t…
… honor their flag because they have no idea what it stands for. They don’t know the price that has been paid for the freedoms they so liberally enjoy. They don’t even recognize their freedom because, due to the courage and sacrifice of those who have fought to protect them- they have never experienced otherwise.
Have you ever heard the expression “in the blink of an eye”? Well “in the blink of an eye” these same teenagers are going to wake up as adults, and they are going to come to the shocking realization that this beloved nation is now in their hands. If they are not taught, if they are not lead by example, if they are left with only drug-abusing actors and unconcerned teachers as role models, then the hope of a better tomorrow for this nation is a lost cause.
So I would encourage my generation to wake up NOW. Realize NOW the importance of the unique tradition that upholds this nation before “in the blink of an eye” it is left in our hands with no one to direct us. Great challenges make great leaders. With a ridiculously colossal debt, illegal immigrants swarming into our country on a daily basis, and a corrupted government that is only growing more controlling and distorted and straying farther and farther away from our constitution, we HAVE a GREAT challenge. We desperately need leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., who fought against the tide of bigotry, George Patton, who knew the sacrificial price of freedom, Ronald Regan who starred down communism, Todd Beamer who fearlessly challenged terrorism, and my grandad, a veteran, who has taught me strong and disciplined work ethic. We need people who are going to step up to the plate and stand solid for all we as American’s hold dear. So that someday we will be able to pass down a country-strong and unbroken- to the generation that follows.
And I would turn to the adults, teachers, and media and I would warn them. And ask them to think about what kind of future they want for America. Ask them who they want to be leading this country in the twilight years of their lives. We are a great nation. We have fought to protect this nation and its freedoms for over 200 years and many lives have been lost in the process. Let us not permit them to die for nothing. We cannot allow this nation to be destroyed by its very citizens. Stand strong America… for the future.
