In previous E-News editions, you may remember seeing a call for submissions to a statewide “We the People” essay contest, which could be entered by individuals or an entire class. We are pleased to announce that 6th grade homeschooler Jonathan Valle (son of regular contributor, Marie Valle) won first place. He has graciously given CHAP permission to publish his winning essay. Congratulations, Jonathan!
Almost two hundred and fifty years ago, our country of America was founded and the Declaration of Independence was published. America has had 47 Presidents and has endured two World Wars and a space race. Americans faced terrorist attacks, multiple wars, and prevented a nuclear crisis. In our country, there are many different people groups that live in America, from Spanish to French. These people groups combine together to make the United States a lively country, full of different people, traditions, and holidays. All of the U.S.’s approximately 331,450,000 people work together to make our country so unique.
From restaurant managers to farmers, no American has the same experience. We all value different things, to make our country a cross roads for people from all walks of life to come together to work and live. Americans are all different, no matter how similar we look or act. We need to work together to succeed together, and all Americans need to hear that in our time of war and riots.
Many people protest in riots because they think what others are doing is wrong. The early colonists protested the unfair British taxes on everyday things like food. In the Preamble to the Constitution, the Founding Fathers referred to “The People” to remind the colonists that they were part of the people, as well as that the leaders were acting for all of them and would bear the repercussions of their actions as well as the people. The phrase “We The People” should remind us that we are part of the people and that, whether we are the lowliest citizen or the President, we all bear the repercussions of our actions, and everyone around us will have to do that too, for better or worse.
For example, when the Founding Fathers made the decision to allow religious freedom, they could’ve decided to do the same as the rest of the world at that time and say that all the people should follow their rulers and be Christians just like them. They chose not to do that because it wouldn’t have been good for the people. Our founders thought about what their actions would do to the people, in this case, force them into Christianity, and make those who didn’t want to be Christians angry and not really care about it. The founders chose religious freedom, not only so immigrants would want to go to America, but also for the people.
Though America is still a relatively young country, it is flourishing because of the Christian values placed central to the Constitution by the Founding Fathers. Because of those values, we have many foundational government principles such as an equal voting right for all, or an anti-slavery policy. All of our different stories and values make every American unique, and whether we are a multimillionaire, or a humble factory worker, we should all be proud to be American.
