American Legion Auxiliary Americanism Essays
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Herald Tribune is proud to publish more winning essays from the recent American Legion Auxiliary Americanism Essay contest. The fine work by the students will be shared in the paper over the next few weeks.
"Safeguarding of our Liberties"
by Peyton Moore
St. Mary Catholic School Grade 8
Daughter of Steve and Jeannette Cowan
1st Place Class I
How do we, as American citizens, safe guard our liberties? Do we realize how precious our basic rights are? To what lengths would we go to protect our basic freedom?
To judge and answer the above questions, we have to know what our liberties and basic freedoms are. Our rights as American citizens are listed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, more specifically the Amendments and the Bill of Rights. The freedoms which we celebrate are so numerous that I can only list a few, such as, the freedoms of religion, speech, and bearing arms. We also enjoy the right to petition and assembly.
One way our liberties are protected is by our Armed Forces. They are overseas fighting so that we can sleep in peace at night. They do so much for our country. We, as a whole nation, should be sure to show our appreciation often.
Another way that our basic rights are being protected is by people who go to Town Hall meetings, gatherings, and rallies. These people are trying to make sure that everybody gets treated fairly and that we all have the same rights. They are working toward a better government and a better America.
We, the citizens of America, all have a personal duty, a duty to stand up for our rights and the rights of others, to guard them with a passion, and to shield them from our enemies. We are so very fortunate, to live in a country such as America, where we have more rights than most.
We live in a wonderful country where people fight everyday to protect us. They protect the very foundation on which our country was established. They safeguard the liberties and freedoms that we all enjoy. Hopefully we can appreciate and recognize these efforts in our own day to day activities.
"Safeguarding of our Liberties"
by Brenton Atchison
St. Mary Catholic School Grade 8
Son of Tim and Wendy Atchison
2nd Place Class I
The title "Safeguarding of Our Liberties" can be explained in many different ways, but the main idea means basically protecting our rights. There are also many ways of doing this. As Americans, it is our job to protect and honor our rights.
Three important rights include: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly. We should honor and protect these important liberties.
Freedom of speech is very important because it gives us the chance to express ourselves, unlike in some countries where you can be imprisoned and not allowed to speak freely. We can protect this freedom by continuing to express ourselves and our emotions. We can let our voices be heard.
Freedom of religion to me is absolutely the most important right. It is simple that without God we would not be here. That is why we should have freedom of religion. Without that freedom we couldn't worship, love, and learn about God. We can safeguard this freedom by continuing to worship, go to church, and by teaching others about God.
Freedom of assembly is important because it allows us to be with others and talk to friends. We are free to gather to discuss government issues without the threat of arrest and imprisonment. It also, more importantly, lets us protest what we think is wrong. We are free to express our ideas in a public manner. We can safeguard this right by continuing to openly gather to voice our opinions.
All of our rights are important. It is our responsibility as Americans to continue to protect and honor these liberties. We must safeguard them for our future.
"Safeguarding of our Liberties"
by Maribeth Lawrence
St. Mary Catholic School Grade 8
Daughter of Bart and Trisha Lawrence
3rd Place Class I
"Safeguarding of our Liberties" is a very powerful phrase. The meaning of safeguarding is to protect, and liberties refer to our rights. This saying "Safeguarding of our Liberties" means to protect our rights.
The Constitution is a big part of our liberties. If we didn't have our liberties, we wouldn't have freedom, and freedom is one of the most important aspects of our lives. Freedom gives us the opportunity to reach out for the things we want. With freedom, we can make our own decisions and choices, and no one can control our lives.
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that protect an individual from the state. Civil liberties set limits on government so that its members cannot abuse their power and interfere improperly with the lives of private citizens. Common civil liberties include the rights of people, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech, and additionally, the right to due process to a trial, to own property, and to privacy.
The state and government protect our liberties. The military continues to fight for our freedom and they risk their lives protecting our liberties. We, too, need to protect our liberties or we will risk the chance of losing our freedom.
"Safeguarding of our Liberties"
by Katie Kerkhover
CHEST Home School Grade 7
Daughter of Ed and Rhonda Kerkhover
1st Place Class I
It was late at night and the young airman was at the airfield when he learned that planes were returning from a mission. However they wouldn't be able to see the runway, or the oil barrels which were lit to illuminate it, through the heavy fog which engulfed the entire Pacific island. Worse yet, there were several Japanese Zeros that had been deployed with orders to intercept and shoot down the planes. A little later everyone on the ground could hear the planes circling the island trying to see the runway and the burning oil barrels. All of a sudden he saw the fog open over the runway and every plane land safely.
As the last plane landed the fog closed back in, covering the runway and planes, moments later he could hear the Japanese Zeros swarming above them like hornets, searching for the planes, unable to find them in the fog.
This story is about my great uncle, who served in the Pacific during the Second World War. Many men like my uncle have fought and died defending our liberties not only in World War II but also in many other wars in this country's history. We need to continue to safeguard our liberties from where they left off. There are many ways you can accomplish this such as talking to people in your community about the importance of our liberties, carefully considering your choice of elected officials, and supporting the military.
By talking to people in your community, you can cause them to realize just how important all of our liberties really are. If you teach this to your children they might raise up a generation in the same way.
When choosing our elected officials, you should think through the pros and the cons about the candidate and give it much thought and especially prayer.
Finally, by supporting the military we can safeguard our liberties. There are many ways to do this such as: supporting their families back home, sending them supplies over seas, but most importantly praying for them.
Just as Thomas Paine once said, "Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it."
We need to realize that one of the benefits of living in this great nation is that we have many liberties. We must stay vigilant in the work of safeguarding our liberties, so that future generations must not bear the great consequences of our inaction.