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‘Americans can question govt in speech and print’
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Posted on Jun 22 2005
Americans enjoy certain unalienable rights such as having the freedom to say and think what they want, question the government both in speech and print, and even lobby for change, according to 17-year-old Leslie Kelly Cabrera, who delivered her winning essay during Tuesday’s Saipan Rotary Club meeting at Hyatt Regency Saipan.
Cabrera, a valedictorian at Northern Marianas Academy, won the Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy oral essay contest, allowing her to represent the Pacific region in Washington, D.C. last February. She bested contestants from Guam, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines.
She said she is enjoying the freedom that has been safeguarded and defended by the millions of dedicated Americans who have served and are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Cabrera said that, as Americans, “we can campaign for political parties, support wars, or act as protesters against wars,” adding that she even has religious freedom.
“We can vote and play in the determination of our country’s future, fully and freely, without fear,” she said.
She said most Americans, though, take these liberties for granted, ignoring the difficulties of those who fought to achieve and maintain freedom. Because of this, she said the people of the CNMI should celebrate the service of the veterans and those who are on missions today.
“We owe every comfort and nicety to these self-sacrificing men and women who travel far and wide to fight wars, keeping them far away from home. They fight the wars we can only imagine—our worst fears—and in our most terrible nightmares.”
The VFW Voice of Democracy contest is an annual patriotic oral essay contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Cabrera received $1,700, a VFW blazer, and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. next month where she will meet other contestants and participants in the Valley Forge’s Spirit of America Youth Conference.
