We still have a few more papers to put up – this one is from Nate! Previous papers were from Peter, Maggie, Laura, Kathryn, Grace & Tim, Catherine, Ben, Tyler, Jillian, Michael, & Christie!
I want you to think for a minute, think about the American flag and what it stands for, about the battles we fought for that flag to stand on this soil, for our freedom. Think about the soldiers that gave their lives for all the freedom we have. There is a shortage of people that will give their lives for their country. The question today is, “Does my generation have a role in America’s future?” and I say yes; it does. We are the future; we are the future presidents, future law enforcement, future solders, and much more. To keep the freedom that we hold dearly, we need to get off the couch, turn off the television, and fight for it. We need to be thinking about others for a change. America is so self-centered. Although there are people that do generous things, the majority of the United States is self-centered. I will list out 3 ways we, as the next generation, can make this a better country.
- We need to be more willing to fight for our freedom. Many people don’t even think about what it means to be free. We just take it for granted. As Ovide Lamontagne said once, “Freedom Isn’t Free”. Freedom will always come with a price and will not come skipping along and ask us if we want it. We have to go looking for it and fight for it. During the war in Iraq, over 4,000 people died for freedom and over 34,000 suffered. Just think, if it took 4,000 people to die for our liberty out of millions in the United States, how many more will it take for us to keep our freedom? There are about 2 million people in the army; that is a small number out of 300 million, In fact, that’s not even 1% of the whole population! Why that little? It is because we are self-centered. We think that other people will fight for us while we watch our favorite show at night. At the very least, we can be thankful for our freedom and support our troops. Some come home because they are mortally wounded, some are told that they have to stay for another couple months, and some never see their family again. I think we should be helping those who lost their moms, dads, husbands, and wives for the cause of freedom. After all, it was for us they died. As being the next generation and still young, we can prepare for the army, even if we don’t sign up, by building strength and endurance.
- When we take positions in life, we need to cut the nations spending. The dollar is failing. Did you know that China already is Washington’s biggest foreign creditor, with an estimated $1 trillion in US government debt and why we have so many taxes? It’s because the nation is spending too much money. Why buy it from China? We have the resources to make it. It’s because we are self-centered and lazy. If we completely cut the spending in China, we would be able to pay off the debt we owe. The government has spent $6,412.7 trillion averaged so far in 2010. $1,107.2 trillion has been spent on health care, the biggest spending from the 6 trillion estimates. Right now, our generation can decide not to spend more than we make from the beginning. That may seem like something small, but if we get into that practice and someone becomes the treasure of the U.S, we, as nation, might actually get out of of debt.
- Lastly, I would like to mention that we can change the moral standards. Two generations ago, they abused morality so much that it still affects us today. Every generation gets a little more immoral than the past one, but two generations ago, it was more than a little. I put this in because I think we can change America for better if our generation realizes that immorality is wrong and needs to be changed and actually changes it. If we change our moral standards for better, the next generation will see that immorality is wrong. Even at a young age we can make the right choices. The choices we make now will affect us later in life. To sum it all up, our generation is the future. The future depends on us. We need to be more willing to fight for our freedom. We need to be making the right decisions for the next generation.
