OSMOND - Recently, students in the Osmond High School junior class submitted Voice of Democracy essays with the theme of "Is America Today our Forefathers' Vision," and winners of the contest were chosen. Jade Halsey was the first-place win - ner, with Jack Berg second and Ava Reikofski third.
Jade's winning essay was printed in last week's issue of the Osmond Republican. The second- and thirdplace essays are printed here.
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Is America Today Our Forefathers’ Vision?
(Jack Berg, Second Place) "A nation's greatness lies in its pos - sibility of achievement in the present, and nothing helps it more than the consciousness of achievement in the past." - Theodore Roosevelt. Our forefathers created our nation under the idea that all people are created equal, whether European, Native, or African American. They emphasized the idea that all these people had protected rights: the rights of liberty, due process of law, and the freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion. They wanted to establish a nation for the people, governed by the people. That is the future they hoped for. But, I ask you this question: do you believe the America of today was our forefathers' vision?
Throughout our nation's history, there have been many interpretations of the goals of the founding fathers. These different interpretations have led to many different decisions be - ing made by those in power; some of those decisions, I believe, have worked together with what the found - ing fathers established, while others worked against them. For example, the protection of our basic rights, like our liberty. The US has done a good job protecting liberty. The Constitution has been amended 27 times, the first 10 times being the Bill of Rights, which protects our most basic freedoms. This is an aspect in which we've done well. However, there are others in which the govern - ment has not done as great a job.
The founding fathers intended for the officials of government to be elected by the people. They wanted trusted, respected, and qualified indi - viduals to hold office. As time goes on, it seems that that is less and less the case today. Private donors and benefactors spend hundreds of thousands to mil - lions of dollars endorsing candidates that suit their interests. Take the three major business titans who funded Wil - liam McKinley in the 1896 election. They acted out of their self-interest, and aside from the already wealthy involved in business, the rest of the nation suffered. Our government has become more efficient in dealing with civil issues since that time, but even today we have our own struggles to worry about. Housing prices have increased 15-fold since our country's founding, the price of healthcare has skyrocketed, and inflation is running rampant. It seems as though fiduciary stan - dards have been becoming more and more ignored, with politicians acting more so in the interest of their party than the interest of the people they represent. The federal government has expanded far beyond what the founding fathers originally intended, and many say that it has become too powerful.
The United States has advanced far beyond anything that the found - ing fathers could have ever dreamed. We've become the most influential nation in the world and have expanded to over 800% the size of the original 13 colonies. Our technology is more newfangled than anything they had at that time, increasing our ability to spread information and ideas. While we have certainly improved upon some of their institutions, we have also failed concerning others. I believe that we can do even better, and can become the America that our forefathers always dreamed of, an America representing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and nothing less.
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Is America Today Our Forefathers’ Vision?
(Ava Reikofski, Third Place) Our world is ever-changing with new technology, apps, and languages. The world around us never seems to give us a chance to stop and take it all in. Our attention is taken one way and before we know it, it is going another. While this lifestyle is common to us, is it what our country has always been envisioned to be? This brings up our topic today, "Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?" When you hear this question you may not know what to think right away. Sure our country is full of freedoms and opportunities that other countries can not even imagine are real, but on the other hand, our country is filled with hate crimes, unpeaceful protests, and undecided laws that seem to tear people apart. One right we get in this country is to vote for our leaders, senators, governors, and more. This is an option many countries don't get, but the way we do it, is not always how it's been. Debates tend to turn into arguments that don't go anywhere and campaigns aren't really about promoting your - self, but rather more about tearing down and pointing out the flaws of the opponent. I am sure there were forms of promoting oneself during our forefathers' campaigns, but was it to the extreme that we see today?
Now, I'm not here to talk solely on the parts of our country that need some work. The country we call home is filled with endless opportunities and advancements that keep setting us ahead. Every person is given the opportu - nity to decide where they take their life. Now not everybody is set up for success, but all of us are given the op - tion to make something of ourselves. Being a part of the auxiliary has shown me some of the best parts of our country. When distributing poppies on Poppy Day, most people understand the meaning of it. Some don't and when informed that the poppy is a representation of honor for our veterans, many people are right on board with supporting this act. But what really touches your heart, is when you come across a veteran who seems to have never gotten a thank you for putting their lives on the line. When they take the poppy and say to you that you're doing an outstanding thing, no matter the success of the day, you feel like you won in the end. Now this is absolutely what our forefathers would want us to be doing.
So with that, is our country where our forefathers would want it to be? There are parts of our country that I'm sure our forefathers never thought would happen. Nothing about the lives we live is perfect, but it never has been and it never will be. This is the beauty of our country. We get to disagree, we get to have our own opinions, and in the end, we get a say on what to change. At times it doesn't go the way we want, but we always wake up the next day and get to live free, like always intended. The freedoms we get, the faith we get to choose and withhold, as well as the respect we get to show, are all factors that contribute to exactly what our forefathers would have wanted. So, our lives are going to keep chang -
ing, but to me remembering where we came from is the first step to with -
holding the powerful country we are honored to call home.
