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Arkansas State Winner

Max Brinson
Wesley, AR
Maguire Mountain Home School
Home School
12th Grade

"The Land of the Free," he said. What does that mean? It indicates quite plainly that it is having the freedom, won by great men, to obey the laws, and live peaceably in this great land. "Home of the Brave," he called it. What must we do to live up to Francis Scott Key's standard of America? Defend it, with our actions, with our honor, with our lives. It is our America, after all. We ought to respect that gift.

While no nation is perfect, America rises high above all others in the universal grasp for desired perfection. Why is this, when our country has so many unfortunate flaws? Why, it is in our ability to vote and change the flaws, to iron out the wrinkles in the crumpled shirt. When evil rears its sorry head we are given the opportunity to put it down again. Therein lies the power of the American people, One Nation Under God.

Perhaps the greatest liberty that our founding fathers preserved for us is the freedom of opinion. The chief sin of the world's tyrants was their unwillingness to let the common man think for himself. Hitler understood the value of keeping the people silent when he said, "What luck for rulers that men do not think." Nero, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Henry VIII, Stalin, and many others slew their opponents for having different opinions than themselves and thus freedom was squelched. Heaven forbid that America should ever do the same. Our opinions are the lifeblood of the nation.

But with this great freedom comes a price: our responsibility. The man in whose hands great power is placed, must be held accountable to use that power to achieve the end for which that power is designed. To each man and woman in this country, such power, in varying degrees, has been given, and they are responsible for that power, responsible for the good of the nation and the good of each other. And when the allotted power in one's possession is abused, the power, and freedoms that come with it, are removed, so that the party accused of the betrayal of the sacred trust cannot bring others or themselves to harm. In the end it is this trust, this responsibility that makes our nation what it is, and shapes what it will become.

Our country, while imperfect, is unique. Our government, while sometimes intrusive, other times dismissive, is ingenuity incarnate. The liberties and constraints of our governmental body are enough to baffle the mind. However, it is essential that citizens observe and understand, and thereby entrust good and just men to do the great work of running our many states, and to be sure that they continue to do what is good for the people. Let us be sensible to current events and informed so as to make the right decisions in our own lives; actively pursuing life, liberty, and happiness; in short, preserving our freedom. That is what it truly means to be an American.