Second to last paper – this time from Hannah!
By the way, one of the folks that was at the event, Jeff Chidester, is also one of the principals at the General John Stark Liberty Award organization – while recognizing those who exemplify his famous phrase:
Live free or die; death be not the worst of all evils.
It will be offering scholarships to students as well. While but a fledgling organization (their website is rather sparse – a work in progress), he donated a small token of a prize – a small statue of General Stark. Folks, I gather we are going to have a contest!
Remember – previous papers done by from Peter, Maggie, Laura, Kathryn, Grace & Tim, Catherine, Ben, Tyler, Jillian, Michael, Christie, and Nate!
Voice of Democracy:
I believe that every generation has a role in America’s future whether it is for good or for bad.
The Pilgrims came to America in 1620, for religious freedom and to escape persecution. When America was founded, it was given the freedom of religion. People could come to America to worship however they wanted and whatever they wanted, but our country was founded by Christian leaders and on Christian principles. When President George Washington was inaugurated, he added to the end of the inauguration oath “so help me God.” In Washington’s farewell address, he said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” With Christian principles, our country prospered for many years.
The present generation of Americans is slowly getting farther and farther away from…
… the Christian principles that our country was founded on. Now, our country is trying to remove “in God we trust” from our coins and “under God” from our pledge.
My generation will have a role in America’s future. Someday, we will be in control and if we study history we will learn from the mistakes of past generations and will not have to repeat them. If we become active in our government we will get a chance to learn more about how our country is run. A survey taken in 1989 stated that out of 1,502 people only 74% could name their state governor and the current vice president. In 2007, the survey was taken again and only 66% could name their state governor and 69% could name the current vice president. These numbers dropped in 18 years and probably will continue to drop unless our generation gets involved in the government and learns more about it and how it is run.
By being responsible citizens, we are more likely to be able to run an organized country one day. A responsible citizen pays his taxes, obeys the laws, tells the truth, as well as other things. Although everyone does not like paying taxes for everything, it helps pay for the many things we need such as: the maintenance of roads, police to protect the area we live in, libraries, the men and women fighting for us in the war, medical and scientific research, and many other desired things. By obeying the law, we are making our country a safer place to live in. If we tell the truth, others will believe us and we will be able to be trusted by those around us.
Previous generations have gotten America into debt and other problems. If our country does not spend more than they really need, maybe there is a chance of not going any deeper into national debt. Each citizen in the United States is approximately in $44,224.33 debt.
As responsible citizens, we need to vote. During the 2008 election, 25% of American citizens did not vote at all. By voting for the right people, we can try to keep America a good country and not change it. In America, we have the freedom to vote for our leaders. The same is not true in all countries. We need to take advantage of this freedom and make sure we vote. We can remind others to vote as well and tell them the importance of it.
If we do not take these steps towards making our country a better place, then we risk reaping the results of our actions and the actions of previous generations. The Bible says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Our generation will be known for having the highest taxes of any other generation. Our freedoms will slowly diminish. The government will all together take control of our lives if we do not work to change the way our country is headed. President Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
