Randolph-Macon Academy Middle School students participated and triumphed in the 2012 Patriot's Pen Competition sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Ladies Auxiliary. This nationwide VFW-sponsored youth essay competition provides students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on democracy with the prospect of winning U.S. savings bonds. Three R-MA Middle School students took the top prizes for the Front Royal VFW Post 1860.
Shea will present her paper this Sunday at VFW Post 2123 in Winchester and may earn the opportunity to advance to the state-level competition.
Read Shea’s winning essay below:
What I Would Tell America’s Founding Fathers
If I got a chance to talk to America’s founding fathers, I would tell them three things. First, I would express how grateful I am to them. Then, I would explain my views of America to our founding fathers. Lastly, I would let them know what it means to me to be an American. I would also want them to realize how important they are to me.
I am so incredibly fortunate to live in the United States of America. I have freedom because my founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. I have freedom of speech, expression, and religion because my founding fathers penned the Constitution. Being an American means so much more than it could; because of my founding fathers.
I would love to tell the founding fathers my views of America. I would ask them if they predicted that America would be so special because it is a diverse melting pot of cultures and religions. It is humbling to think that if every country had a designated color, (for example, if China was purple, and South Korea was magenta), then America would be a rainbow!!
I have my founding fathers to thank for my past, present, and future. They were the spark that started the fire, and the seed that grew the apple. To me, they represent determination and triumph. When we learned about the founding fathers in history, I felt a sense of pride knowing that they accomplished so much for our country.
In America, everyone counts. Sadly, not all people around the world can say that. My founding fathers provided me with so much, before I was even born!! They helped shape my destiny with their love for America. There cannot be a middle or an end without a beginning, and the founding fathers provided a tremendous start for the United States of America. Thomas Jefferson made an important point when he stated “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” – Thomas Jefferson. (www.bostonianteaparty.com) The founding fathers took this into consideration when they formed our laws. The most important thing I could say to my founding fathers, however, would be a simple thank you for their hard work, dedication and brilliant ideas. The founding fathers truly formed America into “The land of the free, and the home of the brave!”