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Show Americanism Contest Winners Selected Wilna Brown and Marjorie Simkins Win First Places In Essay and Oratorical Contests First places in the oratorical and essay contests on Americanism, sponsored by the American Legion and Junior Chamber of Commerce, in which several . hundred students participated were won by Marjorie Simkins and Wilna Brown, respectively. The awards were made Monday morning at the high school and were an engraved fountain pen which Miss Brown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Brown, received, re-ceived, and a gold medal, which was received by Miss Simkins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Simkins. In the Legion oratorical contest, con-test, second place was won by-Calvin by-Calvin Clyde, and third place by Elliot Cameron. They received a silver and bronze medal, respectively. respec-tively. Miss Simkins will represent repre-sent the local post of the American Legion in the state contest and will also have her name engraved on atrophy at the high school. Elliot Cameron won second place in the essay contest and received re-ceived an engraved Eversharp. Lula Fox, Golda Webb, Reed Brockbank, and Luella Huntington received honorable mention in the essay contest. The two prize-winning essays follow: Prize Winning Essays berty they enjoy. Everyone is talking of Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, Mussolini's Musso-lini's Italy, but we can say "our country" yours and mine! It is the best country in the world. We are ready to fight, sacrifice, and even die, as thousands have done before us, that we might enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The American Democracy is established es-tablished on liberties. It is dedicated dedi-cated to dignity and personality of indvidual men and women. It is consecrated to truth, justice, tolerance, and mercy. These liberties liber-ties and obligations are inseparable. insepar-able. The people of the United States are inseparable. Each of us owns a piece of this precious country coun-try in the homes we own and land we till. Here we have a chance to build our future along whatever lines we see fit. We can" think freely, act as we please, and worship wor-ship any God we choose. Under our constitution we all have a voice in the government. Our constitution is the best plan ever made to assure freedom and release the creative powers of man. It has given us the highest two completely separate and distinct dis-tinct institutions but one is the safeguard for the other. If the church and democracy do not work side by side we will not have either for very long. The church instills in man the proper attitude atti-tude and the necessary discipline to meet the responsibilities that come upon him in a democracy. It was once said that he who discovers dis-covers the religion of democracy will have found what is needed to make democracy work. This religion re-ligion of democracy was found about 2000 years ago in a manger in Bethlehem and as long as a democracy has that Teligion serving serv-ing as its safeguard it shall not fail. The modern dictator hates God. His motto is more ships, more cannons, and more airplanes, and with it comes the warning, "Woe to the weak." We of America, however, have as our motto "More charity, more peace, more humanity, human-ity, and better protection . for the weak and the poor." Democracy is not an end in itself, it-self, but rather is a means to an end. The end which democracy and the church both serve is the salvation sal-vation of the human soul. Under democracy, wisely undertaken under-taken political, religious and economic eco-nomic liberty may be experienced by the citizen. Liberty, if we understand un-derstand it, will inspire and promote pro-mote our faith in God because without God there can be no liberty. li-berty. The whole theory of the development de-velopment of the human soul is based on the principle of the freedom free-dom of choice. We Americans are generous without our freedom; we share it with those who disagree with us. We hate no people and covet no one's land. We set no limit to a man's achievement; an able man, regardless of class or creed, can realize his ambition. We have great dreams, but more important still we have a chance to make those dreams come true. Because I am an American, even in the midst of a world at war, I can go about my affairs, plan my businesses and pleasures, worship as I please, and express my opinions opin-ions and view whenever and however how-ever I please. If this were true, we would have very few Americans. Fortunately, it is not. In this land of the free, one's degree of Americanism does not depend on one's ancestors. Steve Vasflokos took the oath the other day which made him an American citizen. Steve had been running a peanut stand in Washington, Wash-ington, D. C., for a number of years, ever since he came from Greece. "I lika dees countree best of all," said Steve, and the President Presi-dent and visitors to the White House accept Steve as a good American citizen. It is not education that makes an American or determines the degree de-gree of Americanism. On the same day that Steve became be-came an American citizen, another immigrant took the same oath. He is perhaps the best educated man in the world, at least in his own field of mathematics. His name is Albert Einstein. He is a Jew, born in Germany. Now the Greek peanut vendor and the Jewish master of mathematics mathe-matics are equals in that both are Americans. Both have the right for liberty, freedom, and the pursuit pur-suit of happiness. The thing we call Americanism is the outgrowth and fruit of the spiritual ideas of liberty, of Tolerance Toler-ance and of human brotherhood, one author has said. Every citizen of the United States is here because her or his parents, or more remote ancestors, ances-tors, did not like conditions under which they lived in some other part of the world. This is one reason why so many have crossed the ocean, often at great sacrifice, sacri-fice, to find in a new world opportunities op-portunities denied in the old, and for liberty to seize those opportunities. oppor-tunities. : J (Continued from page one) "WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AX AMERICAN" By WILNA BROWN A man dreamed of a country where souls are free, Of a country made great through liberty Of that country's flag, red, white, and blue. He came to America. His dream came true. Too often the benefits of being an American are overlooked today, as, carefree and happy, we take life as it comes, never stopping to realize how fortunate we are to live in a country founded on freedom, justice, and democracy. When we compare our chances of advancement today with those of boys and girls suffering the tortures tor-tures of war-maddened Europe, we may realize in part what it means to be an American. Only yesterday I saw a picture of an American child sleeping in a lovely bed with her toys about her, secure. On the opposite page, three English children were huddled hud-dled together on a bench-like bed, in a bomb cellar, asleep, but in constant danger. To live in a country where one forms one's own opinions, thinks for one's self, says what one pleases, and reads what one likes, is certainly an advantage which any girl or boy might well appreciate. appre-ciate. Surely we live in a land "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," as Abraham Lincoln Lin-coln stated in his Gettysburg address. ad-dress. ..Again and again we read that we have the majority of the world's telephones, of its miles of highways, of automobiles, of electric elec-tric power lines, of gas appliances, of heated homes. America has guns, ships, airplanes, and sol- standard of living, the greatest freedom in religious, civil, and personal lives that any people ever enjoyed. Totalitarianism is on the march in Europe and Asia, blacking out liberty and freedom there. We shall be free from this tyranny as long as we continue to improve conditions. We have made so much progress and improved conditions so much that there are few problems prob-lems of old left to be solved and we are quite capable of taking care of the domestic problems that arise from- day to tlay. All things in America may not be just as we should like them to be, economically speaking,, but we all know that whatever comes, our loved ones will not be allowed to starve. Whenever the opportunity comes to improve our economic conditions, we make the best of it. No people in the world are as comfortable as we are. Nowhere else do the rich, poor, and mediocre me-diocre mingle to the extent that we do. Our nation is still young and we are the people who benefit In this land of equality and justice, one is not held by birth to a given class and station In life, but through effort and achievement, one may climb from the lowest station to the highest rank among his fellowmen. Compare Com-pare this to countries where class distinction is as sacred as one's own religion and we may again know what it means to be an American. Am-erican. In America, one may be a professor, pro-fessor, clergyman, banker, artist, scientist, or laborer and yet rub shoulders, pass the time of day, or perhaps meet at a social gathering with each other. One may be a Protestant banker, bank-er, his best friend a Catholic contractor con-tractor and both doing business with a Jewish merchant. An office stenographer may have an appointment ap-pointment with a French beauty operator and will dine In the evening eve-ning with the son of her millionaire million-aire employer. Where but in America Am-erica does such freedom from class distinction exist? In America, one is patriotic to his country because he feels an inborn loyalty, a spirit to give where much is given. He has a desire de-sire to achieve, to improve his methods me-thods of living that by so doing others may be benefited. Today we should more fully appreciate ap-preciate just what America has and what we enjoy as American citizens. We should be ever-thankful for what life and work under democracy offers. We should have a deeper gratitude for what America Am-erica means, what America has meant and what America may yet mean to us. In Germany, and other countries coun-tries where dictators rule with an iron hand, a spirit of hopelessness, depression, dissatisfaction, and unrest un-rest must surely prevail. A lack of independence, and initiative, would seem almost inevitable. It is difficult for we American-born American-born citizens to conceive of a government gov-ernment in which so much power is given to one man. To picture also any one man demanding the reverence and obedience of an entire en-tire country. There is confusion in some people's peo-ple's minds as to what constitutes consti-tutes an American and just what is "Americanism." Some people seem to think that no one may claim to be a real American unless un-less his ancestors several generations genera-tions back, came to this country. us in because we have exercised such rights. We are a rich nation with widespread wide-spread decency and goodness along with our strength and size. There are fruitful valleys, shining rivers, riv-ers, clean mountains, and millions of acres of land tilled by men who own them. We emphasize the word "own." There are not many people peo-ple in the- world who own the land they till. In other countries, the government either owns the land or controls it. - Scattered throughout our country coun-try are towns,- peopled by- kind, generous, active men and women. Nowhere but in democracy do we find people who are dignified, self-supporting, self-choosing, and free-thinking. "Democracy is not a thing done, but always something a nation must be doing." Democracy will from the struggle of our forefathers forefa-thers that established and preserved preserv-ed our form of government. We should have some idea of what we mean by democracy. No doubt democracy exists in the spirit rather than material things as brick and stones. There are many different religious reli-gious crQeds in this country, yet we do not have the economic jealousy jeal-ousy or strife that many -other countries have. Where there is a free interchanging inter-changing of ideas, truth Is more likely to prevail than under any other system of control. ' No place in the world do we find the synagogue, chapel, and cathedral on the same block and the people coming and going discussing dis-cussing their business and economic eco-nomic affairs among themselves. The church and democracy are not fall if it is democracy in action, ac-tion, and democracy in action is the creating of freedom for every man. Our democracy is founded primarily on four essential human freedoms, namely: freedom of speech and press, freedom of worship, wor-ship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These are termed as some of our civil liberties. liber-ties. These are in danger now mainly because Americans don't fully understand the principales which are involved. These liberties liber-ties will never be defeated, however, how-ever, as long as the American people peo-ple retain the power to act for themselves. If the American understands un-derstands his country, and I think most of us do, he is in a part of this wonderful land. He is within himself a little replica of the country he thinks so much,of. He listens to the ideas of the Nazis, Fascists, Communists, and other creeds and then makes up his own mind as to what he will follow. He doesn't have to ask anyone anything. any-thing. He knows the way to reach tomorrow. He doesn't ask where he came from, what he did, or who he was. In America it is enough that he is a man. He thinks for himself and he acts for himself while the totalitarian is only an unthinking cog in a machine. America has more of the things that satisfy the mind, spirit, and body than any other country in the world, and more people enjoy them. We have a higher and more widespread average of decency, opportunity aiid liberty than the world has ever seen and it is progressing pro-gressing and going forward. America is the only country in the world where a person can stand free and unafraid. He may express his views on any subject. He is not constantly being herded into an air raid shelter or forced to spend a cold, wet night, without with-out a roof over his head. America stands as a solid, firm fortress, a barrier, and a sanctum from the rest of a war-torn world. America stands for liberty and a right to be happy. She is peopled by men who will fight, not because be-cause an officer commands, but because they cherish this beautiful beau-tiful land with all of its resources, but above all they cherish the li- One says what one pleases and about whom. One's personal opinion opin-ion is as good as his neighbor's. No one- tells me which church I must join, or for which president I must -vote. My rights as an American Am-erican citizen are guarded. Should I become involved in difficulty, fair judges and courts of justice hear my case. In school I mingle with rich and poor, with various nationalities and religious creeds. My grades are not based on these, but rather on my ability to do the work as it is given. When school is out, I go to my home, where every modern convenience, con-venience, together with a spirit of security, makes it a -place to rest and be happy. I am not awakened in the night by the terrific sound of a bursting burst-ing bomb, or the shriek of an ambulance am-bulance siren. I do not climb from a dark hide-out to find my home, school, and church destroyed. I am an American. I live the American way, which is to think, act, speak and worship as I please, so long as I do not infringe in-fringe on other people's rights. I am an American, I enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. happi-ness. "God Bless America!" o "WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN" By ELLIOT CAMERON One hundred and sixty - five years ago this July 4th, the United States drew up the Declaration of Independence, creating a new" and free nation. Since that time we have progressed and gone Forward to such an extent that we have amazed the world. Nowhere else on earth do the people have the freedom and liberties li-berties that we do in America. Nowhere else in the world can the people arise each morning with the feeling of security and safety that we feel here. In other countries coun-tries people are living in dread of a concentration camp or the falling of a bomb or something else that will molest the activities of the day. But here we can talk as we , please, think as we please, wor-L wor-L ship as we please, and not worry about a member of the "Gestapo" I or some other organization turning |
