An essay from yesterday
Let’s see, what did that last ‘cuff say? It’ll probably or might be about roads and … what’s that, apple juice? I’d bet that quarter the old ‘cuffer must have been in a trance to come up with predictions for 2024. Nope, it was the enjoyable and thankful time that Christmas has come and gone, and new memories must have been enjoyed and saved by families, as has been the case for many years. So, no predictions, but much enjoyable family thankfulness. Isn’t that about how it has been and is in the good old U.S.A.?
Sadly, as the new year begins, some of the activities in the nation at every level are almost unbelievable. One of those topics is how the nation’s educational system is being worked on, and it makes you wonder what the kids are learning or how they are being lectured from the ground up, and up and up to the college level. Our educational system has held our country together for so long, and now, doesn’t it seem to be something that can make a person wonder? Many changes seem to be good while at the same time, well, … What made that the topic for the ‘cuff today?
I was going through a couple of boxes and drawers, looking at old clippings and notes, and whatever that something struck a chord and got me wondering. A piece that did it was an essay, “What America Means to Me.” What follows is that essay, written in 1949.
“America means to me, a land of freedom and enterprise. It means a right to speak what I think is right and a right to print what I please as long as I stay within the bounds of the law. It means a right to worship in any church I choose; a right to vote when I am twenty-one years old.
“After finishing my years of school, I have a right to go to one of the many fine universities in the United States. There I can take up military training or I can study to be a businessman. If I choose, I may become a politician because, in America, you have a chance to work up. Many of our most prominent citizens and statesmen started from the bottom.
“From another angle, America means to be a land of justice. Every man arrested of a crime is allowed to have a fair trial. If he is unable to hire a lawyer, he is furnished one by the state. Justice is used every day by most people. The schoolboy is a good example of that when he tries to prove his problem is correct.
“Most people take everyday life for granted. In other words, they think we’re free and prosperous today, so we’ll be that way forever. That is not the case. Many countries have been overrun, and their people subjected to harsh treatment. The American citizen must not think that way about our country.
“If I was a foreign-born person and was coming into this country, it would be like opening a door of opportunity to me. In other words, I am outside in a cold, unfriendly, starving world. I open the door and find myself in a warm, cozy room filled with sunshine.
“When Francis Scott Key wrote the important song, ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ he had no idea how famous it would become. These few words, ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave,’ describe our country more clearly than I could ever describe it in a million words.
“All these things, which are just a few, are ‘what America means to me.’”
I would hope that eighth and ninth graders in America now write even better essays. As we enter a new year, let us hope that those in charge are filling our children with the “American Dream” and how to write and act, especially when they reach adulthood.
How about apple juice next ‘cuff ?
Dodie Evans is the former owner and publisher of the Gravette News Herald. Opinions expressed are those of the author.