Newspaper Page Text
Page 8A
Wed. April 16, 1997, Houston Tbnes-Joumal
Johanna Golden wins VFW Auxiliary Voice of Democracy contest
Perry High School senior submitted winning entry entitled ‘Democracy, above and beyond * to Ladies Auxiliary of VFW Post 6129
Special to the Times-Journal
Members of the Ladies
Auxiliary of V.F.W. 6126,
.recently recognized the winner
of their Voice of Democracy
Program. Johanna Golden is a
senior at Perry High School.
The Voice of Democracy
Program is sponsored each year
by the V.F.W. and Ladies
Auxiliary. It is open to all 10th,
11th, and 12th grade students
nation-wide.
The material for entering
essays is available at all high
schools in September. Monetary
awards are given at the local,
district, state and national levels.
A dinner honoring Golden
and her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
James Golden, and her grandpar
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Gene Smith,
was held at V.F.W. Post on Feb.
13.
Democracy - Above and
Beyond
A democracy stands above
and beyond other forms of gov
ernment for many varied rea
sons. The most important rea
sons are best expressed in the
U.S. Declaration of
Independence which states that
“all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their cre
ator with certain unalienable
'’rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty, and the pursuit of
Happiness.” No other form of
government comes close to
granting its citizens such free
doms to follow their life’s
dreams.
Every person is given the
power to determine his or her
own future. All of the citizens
have the right and responsibility
to be involved in the governance
of their country.
The essence of a democracy is
also embodied in the fundameh
tal principle that all people are
'created equal regardless of race,
religion, sex, or social standing.
We have seen many times in the
history of our own democracy
that when people respect each
other and work together, mira
cles can happen.
Asa result, a democracy
stands beyond other forms of
government where there is no
direct citizen involvement.
Many of these governments have
citizens who suffer from such
problems as famine, human
rights violations, runaway infla
tion, religious intolerance, dis
eases, and warring factions.
Governments such as dicta
torships totalitarianism, fascism,
nazism, communism, and abso
lutism stifle the people whom
they supposedly govern and rel
egate their subjects to a life of
dependence on others.
Governments such as monar
chies depend on the ruler who is
in power at the moment, and
many times this is detrimental to
the citizens of a country. How
much greater is a democracy to
allow its citizens to create rich,
full, productive lives wiihin a
framework of providing freedom
and equality for all.
Some of the freedoms which a
democracy grants are often over
looked if we only focus on the
broad areas such as equality and
freedom of expression.
Think of daily life in a
democracy and the privileges
that are sometimes taken for
granted. Religious faith and the
right to express it both privately
and publicly is very important.
So is the fact that the law will
protect any person and give
everyone equal process under
the law. All persons are consid
ered innocent until proven
guilty and the law will be impar
tially applied in all cases.
Every person has the right to
1
itifi i
► ®J J
Special Photo
AND THE WINNER IS
Pansy Gordon, chairman of
•ho Voice of Democracy, is
shown with winner
Johanna Golden (right).
Some of the freedoms which a democracy grants
are often overlooked if we only focus on the broad
areas such as equality and freedom of expression.
receive an education through sec
ondary school. A literate society
makes for an informed society
and gives citizens the ability to
attain a decent standard of living.
Further, a person may seek any
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job for which they are qualified.
Within a democracy, a person
has the right to start a family,
establish a home which is secure,
and receive the basic necessities
of food, shelter, and clothing.
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Since a democracy grants its
citizens all these rights, the citi
zens must take responsibilities in
order for the democracy to place
itself above and beyond other
forms of government. This is
expressed by Douglas L.
Edmonds who states the follow
ing:
“How many of us are waiting
for the opportunity to do some
great thing for the betterment of
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our community, forgetting that
the solution of the problem
requires only the active intelli
gent fulfillment of individual
duty. The only things which are
wrong about our Government are
the things which are wrong with
you and me. Democracy is never
a thing done: it is and always will
be a goal to be achieved. It means
action, it requires alertness to
duty, a dynamic faith, a willing
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ness to give for the good of all. It
can live only as a result of loyal
ty and devotion to its principles
expressed by daily deeds.”
In this election year, the citi
zens of this democracy should
take our rights and responsibili
ties very seriously to help our
nation not only expand above and
beyond other forms of govern
ment, but to soar triumphantly
into the 21st century.
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