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The Nation's Pulse
Being a Young American
What one student can teach Washington, D.C.
The table at which Rebecca Areaux sat was conveniently located in the middle of a downtown Washington, D.C. hotel ballroom. This vantage point allowed her to easily survey the podium and nearly all of the dinner guests. This high school senior with the cheerleader good looks was recently honored along with 26 other high school students from the around country. They were feted at the Bill of Rights Institute annual gala.
The Bill of Rights Institute sponsors the nation’s largest high school essay contest. The evening’s event recognized the first, second and third place finishers in nine regions in the 5th annual Being An American essay contest. The program is intended to educate young adults about the words and ideas of the nation’s founders and to expand the national dialogue on what it means to be an American. On this evening, Rebecca and her parents were justifiably proud of her accomplishment.
The irony of the Constitution-themed awards banquet was that it was held in the very same week when Congress narrowly passed health care legislation that is already facing Constitutional challenges on several fronts.
This year’s essayists were to answer the question “What civic value do you believe is most essential to being an American?” Her second-place winning essay focused on courage, which according to Areaux, “defines the course of the American experience.”
She wrote that courage was essential to the nation’s founders who “fought to end British tyranny, to protect American lands, and establish[ed] American sovereignty.” Who among the founders could have imagined that two centuries later courageous citizens would again take to the streets to preserve American values and principles against a coterie of politicians and bureaucrats in the nation’s capital intent on eroding personal liberties and rights?
Victoria McCardell, Areaux’s teacher at Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans, Louisiana, and who also attended the gala, assigned the essay as an extra-credit opportunity. After witnessing the value of the entire experience, McCardell offered that next year she would “make it a mandatory assignment.”
Institute president Victoria Hughes recognized the immense challenge of “engag[ing] 21st century students with 18th century documents.” Yet, it appears the Institute succeeded quite nicely as amply demonstrated by this year’s contest when more than 50,000 high school students entered.
Keynote speaker David Koch of
Koch Industries noted that crafting the Constitution “would not
have been possible without our nation’s free market, capitalist
society.” Koch also lauded free enterprise as “the powerful
engine that causes our country to be what it is.” Sadly, those
sentiments are not often heard in the nation’s capital.
Perhaps what is the most remarkable about these young adults is
the juxtaposition of their understanding of Constitutional
principles and that of many of today’s national lawmakers.
Earlier this year insurance giant American International Group paid out $165 million in bonuses on the heels of receiving more than $170 billion in bailout funds. In response, Congress passed legislation that would tax the bonuses at ninety percent. Days after the House vote, one member of Congress confided that he voted in favor of legislation “even though it was clearly unconstitutional.” “But,” he continued, “at least it got the issue off the front pages [of the newspapers.]” This was quite an admission from a U.S. Representative who swore an oath to “support and defend the Constitution.”
Similarly, when a reporter asked where in the U.S. Constitution does it grant authority to Congress to mandate individual health insurance, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi replied, “Are you serious? Are you serious?”
Adhering to the Constitution is seen as inconvenient by some who would rather pursue an activist political agenda even at a significant cost to the nation’s principles and values. No doubt, there are countless politicians in Washington who could learn a lesson or two from Rebecca and her fellow students.
In closing her essay, Areaux wrote, “Whether fighting for basic civil liberties for all or conquering our own inner fears, courage propels Americans to action. With courage we grow as individuals. With courage we grow as a nation.”
Rebecca Areaux plans on attending the University of Notre Dame in the Fall 2010.
About the Author
Mark Hyman hosts “Behind the Headlines,” a commentary program for Sinclair Broadcast Group. You can follow him on Twitter at @markhyman.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (26) | Leave a comment
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Louis Jenkins| 4.5.10 @ 6:22AM
She wrote that courage was essential to the nation's founders who "fought to end British tyranny, to protect American lands, and establish[ed] American sovereignty."
Pesky right winged terrorist. How dare she write such unpopular tripe! (Remember folks, those people in the District of Criminals can learn something from the fiftyish crowd too.) The ideas and principles of freedom have no age limits. Yes Pelosi, we are serious!
Alan Brooks| 4.5.10 @ 1:17PM
Education is so postmodernized, students can't think anymore.
They are being taught outmoded gunk that was never scholastically efficacious to begin with.
We are not only free-falling in nihilism, we are floating on a sea of mediocrity.
Alan Brooks| 4.5.10 @ 7:41PM
Actually, now we're at post-postmodernism, or post-post-postmodernism.
Is it generation z yet? or still y?
drudge ette obama | 4.5.10 @ 7:00AM
There have always been young people like Rebecca. They seem to have an inner core that serves them well. Her peers are probably too busy plugged into their Ipods and adding more photos of themselves to Facebook to know what dangers revolve around them.
Over the past 50 yerars, the media of all types have successfully mixed with popular entertainment and political strategists to demonize anyone with conservative values, leading even Christian churches to advertise that their members aren't ashamed to be Christian. The parents in their 50s and 60s have raised a bunch of sheep who in turn are raising their own sheep, usually without both parents and without marriage. Makes you hope Bill Ayers' kids decide to join the Federalist Society.
Brian Mc| 4.5.10 @ 7:29AM
Yes, Ms. Pelosi, quite serious...and you can add 'deadly' as an adjective which suits us just fine.
And further, you seem to believe that you won't be happy until all your ignorant and ignoble constituents are happy, conveniently forgetting that little catch phrase just before happiness is mentioned in the Declaration...pursuit. Therein lies our serious polarization that is aligning against you and your cohorts in crime. Resentful collectivism does not bring happiness. You are against "Life", you are obviously against "Liberty", so how could we, with any modicum of reason, trust you concerning
"Happiness"?
Ken (Old Texican)| 4.5.10 @ 8:44AM
Mr. Hyman,
I posted this the other day here on AM SPEC.
I hope you will appreciate me adding it here.
EXPEDIENCY seems to be the only watchword from the Democrat Party these days, except that they seem to think it is "expedient " to guide us into following them...at the point, (muzzle), of an IRS pencil... so far......
(former comment posted)...... And you know, common sense does seem extremist to the "useful idiots" on the Left. Sadly, they can't and won't wake up to reality, (common sense), until each one of them personally is marched off to destitution...or worse.
One would think that they could peek at history in the unforgiving grey light of dawn and see the pretty obvious failures of every ...every...socialist attempt at running a country and/or an economy.
One would think that each of the "useful idiots";
(by the way, idiots, that is your own leaders' term to describe you, not ours.)
...that many of them would try to peer into the future and apply common sense to see that if their leaders win...they lose, just like we do.
They can't or won't though. It is simply too frightening to them to be a free independent person.
Liberty and freedom ARE frightening... to all of us.
Let me repeat that:
Personal Liberty and Freedom ARE frightening...to all of us human beings.
After 40 years of successes...and failures...as an adult free agent ...I wake up with fears every single morning. My personal "crutch" each morning is a quiet prayer for courage...and wonderfully, it is always answered..."Granted".
That quiet prayer is my method of NOT "crutching" on the backs of my fellow men, or on some "broke-johnson leader" or political chimera of the moment.
Wlady,
In the final analysis, Leftist pawns are simply frightened; seemingly too frightened to stare life, and their inevitable death, square in the eye.
My prayer is that they each could gather the courage to do so.
Al Adab| 4.5.10 @ 11:28AM
Our Constitution, in written form, exists to limit the powers of the central government to those specified. Even Hamilton, no small government fellow he, wrote that the "necessary and proper" clause applied only to the enumerated powers.
The cavalier attitude of social engineers and statist centralizers towarsd that ducument should give us all pause. Unless we Citizens can agree that limited Federal power is desirable and central control unwanted, we risk sinking into a long dark night of tyuranny. As they say, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
Pingback| 4.5.10 @ 12:33PM
Right-Wing Links (April 5, 2010) links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
wodiej| 4.5.10 @ 4:24PM
Kudos to this fine young lady and many more I'm sure who do have their head on straight. They have not fallen for the indoctrination hogwash like many but then those students no doubt are being raised by parents who are brainwashed as well.
I don't care how a liberal wants to justify what Obama and the Democrats are doing, it is plain and simple unconstitutional and that makes it wrong. No if's ands or buts.
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