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Show - f'BATTICREEK February 1956 has come and gone, and as usual numerous events ev-ents during the month have focused focus-ed our attention on the advantages of American citizenship. Not that Americanism is a fluctuating thing, to be turned on and off as the season changes; but rather that February has come to be regarded re-garded as the period of stock-taking of the many advantages that are ours. The other day I had the opportunity oppor-tunity to read a number of essays written by the Seventh grade boys and girls of Mr. Leichty's classes at the local high school. The essays es-says were written in response to the annual American Legion Aux- the religion of my liking. I can get up on Sunday morning and go to church without being forced. I have the right of being a Christian, Chris-tian, and not the way of a Communist." Com-munist." Stanley Walker. "Americanism means people happy people, living their lives in progress, freedom and justice." Barbara Johnson. "Some of the greatest statesmen in the world were Americans. They have fought and worked, for the freedom we enjoy today. Yet we share the responsibility to maintain main-tain this freedom by voting wisely and upholding the laws that guarantee guar-antee our freedom." Joseph Richards. ihary Americanism Essay Contest. The title of the "compositions" was "What Americanism Means to Me." As is invariably the case, some of the essays were good and some were just so-so. The important thing however, is that through the medium of the activity the boys and girls were stimulated into doing do-ing a little serious thinking; and that's a valuable but often painful experience for children and adults alike. There is one universal criticism criti-cism that may be leveled truthfully truth-fully against most of us. We are apathetically willing to let others do our thinking for us. The youngsters in most cases expressed ex-pressed simply and clearly the fundamental fun-damental advantages that American Ameri-can Democracy holds over the numerous "Isms" that are a curse to the peoples of the world today. to-day. Here are a few examples gleaned from the writings of the youngsters. The name of the author auth-or follows the quotes in each case. "Although I am just in the Seventh Sev-enth Grade, and have not traveled much, I know that in America I am free. If I live by the laws and standards of my Country, I will always al-ways be free. I am proud of my liberty." Judy Wells. "I have the privilege to choose In Asia there are not enough people with the know-how to build a great and happy civilized, progressive pro-gressive and industrious nation. This proves that we in America are lucky to get the good education educa-tion that most boys and girls wish they could go without; and later on in life, wish they had had nore of." Glen Laurel Roberts. "Americans hold many great and wonderful privileges and freedoms. Americanism means to me what even the best author couldn't write in a million words. I've said a few things on what I think, but I'll never be able to get the things that I would have liked onto paper." pa-per." Dallas Isaksen. There you have it friends, and how many of us could do much better. Opportunities for boys and girls to express in written or spoken spo-ken words exactly how they feel, come perhaps too seldom these days. Too often classroom instruction instruc-tion involves only, "read chapter 27 and answer the questions at the end." Democracy will live only so long as all the people have the unrestricted unre-stricted privilege to speak and write what they think. Of our four fundamental freedoms, this is the one that tyrants and dictators fear most and always destroy first. |