Is our country what the Founding Fathers intended?

Gianna Swan

1st place, Haxtun High School

What did the founding fathers envision for today’s world? “When the country was started it was supposed to be a place of the free where everybody was created equal. As stated in the Declaration of Independence, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ That was what the founding fathers wanted it to be.” Are we truly free? The answer to that is no because we are judged on what we believe in. Is everyone equal? No, because in today’s world blacks and whites are treated differently simply because of the color of their skin.

Is freedom real? Do we all believe in the same type of freedom? The founding fathers believed in a freedom that included not being judged, belittled or treated differently on what you believe or who you are. “Christians now being arrested and thrown in jail in some areas of the United States for quietly passing out Christian literature on public sidewalks” (Abdelnour par. 15). Our Founding Fathers never wanted our religious beliefs to separate us.

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Brock Miller

2nd Place, Haxtun High School

Is this the country the Founding Fathers envisioned? Well the answer to that question depends on many variables. They probably thought we would have flying cars and laser weapons. I doubt that they thought we would have an invisible jet or that we would have had a pandemic. They thought that we would still have freedom, which we do. They thought that we would be one of the strongest militaries in the world, which we are. They thought that we would be one country, which we are. I hope that I can answer that question or make your answer the same as mine at the end of this.

Have you, or somebody you’ve known, served in the military? If so, you know what service members risk for friends, for family, for their country, and for themselves — their life. The one thing that you can’t get back, the one thing that you can’t buy back, the one thing more precious than diamonds and gold. You can’t buy it, you can’t sell it, but the bravest men and women trade for it — freedom.

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Correy Koellner

Tie for 3rd Place, Holyoke High School

Pride. Independence. Equality. These are the core values that shaped America. When the founding fathers envisioned our country, there was boundless potential. Nothing like this had ever been done before. A country was born.

Pride. It is what every American is born with. You should be proud to be an American. America has been ahead of its time for years. Even in times of war, America still advances ahead. Without pride, America would cease to exist. Pride allows for people to willingly protect our nation. It was written in the preamble of the Constitution as well as other documents that the citizens of America will always be protected. Our country is one of the few lucky ones. We have people willing to sacrifice their lives in order to keep this country running. Without these brave soldiers, we would be forced to reuse the drafting system.

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Lauren Herman

Tie for 3rd Place, Holyoke High School

“Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness” — a phrase that comes from our Declaration of Independence during a time that the American people were fighting for their own, as well as our independence. The Founding Fathers wrote this thinking these three things would be the perfect way to build a strong foundation for a country to one day thrive on. Building on that foundation today, are we growing into the country that the Founding Fathers envisioned when writing that impactful phrase? I do not think that there is any way that the Founding Fathers could have envisioned the world we are currently living in. I believe that there are a few things that the Founding Fathers would be proud of today, and others where they would be extremely disappointed.

From looking at the pride that some Americans have for this country, I can only imagine that would make the Fathers proud. Not every citizen is like that, and I believe that a vast majority of us take for granted what has been given to us.

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