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Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest Winning Essay

Cleopatra Stafford, a 7th grade student at Ava Victory Academy, was the local winner of the VFW Patriot’s Pen essay contest last fall. Following is her essay as it was presented.

What I Would Tell America’s Founding Fathers

By Cleopatra Stafford

I would express my gratitude to America’s Founding Fathers for the country they established. They established the country based on many important rights and freedoms such as, the freedom of speech and press, the freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, and the right to assemble. I would also thank them for allowing people from other countries to immigrate here, to America, where they are allowed to share the same freedoms. Next, I would tell them about all the changes in the economy, how we elect Presidents, and about some modern convenience such as high powered electricity, indoor plumbing, and modern means of transportation. I think the Founding Fathers would be very impressed with how we make things and how we use electrical devices to build houses, write letters, and in our education.                                                               The way we do things now is very different from the way our Founding Fathers and their families did things then.

My mother recently told me a story about a friend of hers who immigrated to America from Afghanistan. At the age of seventeen his father was killed and his mother immigrated to France. He then immigrated to America, where he got a job and paid his way through college. He then went to medical school, and became an amazing neurosurgeon. His comment is, “Only in America could this have happened.”

I would express my concern to the Founding Fathers about the infringement of our rights that made our country great. Our freedom of religion (based upon the Northwest Ordinance of 1787) says “public schools were to be established with religious instruction as part of the curriculum.” In today’s society we are no longer able to pray in public schools or most public gatherings, and we have removed the Ten Commandments from most government buildings.

I believe we need another “Great Awakening” to bring America back to our way of religion. I would ask the Founding Fathers for their advice on how to return America back to its original intent of bringing the country together in religion.

Lastly, I would express to our Founding Fathers my hope that the citizens of America and all nations would express their profound gratitude to the brave soldiers who have fought and those who have lost their life to keep us safe and to preserve our freedom.