[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 29, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H3968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     JULIA BAILEY IS MISSISSIPPI WINNER IN VFW VOICE OF DEMOCRACY 
                          SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Montgomery] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, I want to share with my colleagues the 
winning entry from Mississippi in the VFW's annual Voice of Democracy 
contest. It was submitted by Julia Bailey of West Point, MS.
  Julia is a senior at West Point High School and the daughter of 
Eugene and Elizabeth Bailey. I had the chance to meet and visit with 
this outstanding young lady when she came to Washington recently. Her 
patriotic essay is one of the best I have read and commend it to all my 
colleagues.
                       ``my vision for america''

       The people who fought for the American Revolution had a 
     vision of a country they governed themselves. The South had a 
     vision of keeping their slaves. The North had a vision of 
     defeating the South. Abraham Lincoln had a vision of forming 
     a Union again, and the slaves had a vision of being free. 
     History is a picture show of many groups with many visions. I 
     am following in a long line of history because I, too, have a 
     vision.
       Everyday I go to school, and, to me, it is a small scale 
     America. In our school we have black people, white people, 
     people with learning disabilities, and straight A students. 
     We have as many visions as we do groups of people, but all 
     the students and faculty come together five days a week for 
     one purpose, whether it is conscious or buried under all 
     their other concerns. We come to school to educate and to be 
     educated because we all have a vision of success. My vision 
     for America is that, like the school, we will recognize that 
     we, too, have a common goal to work towards--unity.
       The civil rights movement was perhaps a time when many 
     people combined dreams to form one vision. Sit-ins, boycotts, 
     and marches were all a part of a people's fight for justice. 
     The civil rights movement was special because it included 
     everyone. The object of the movement was unity. A person did 
     not have to be black to fight for civil rights but simply a 
     person with an eye for justice and a belief that it was time 
     for the truth to be acted upon that all people are created 
     equal, not ``separate but equal,'' equal.
       We tend to focus on the qualities that we can see are 
     equal--like our color or our financial status--rather than 
     the qualities that we cannot see. In my vision our new focus 
     will be on equality of mind and spirit, of opinions and 
     beliefs, equality, not agreement, unity of spirit, not race. 
     Spirit has no color; it has no age, it is not divided into 
     categories.
       I had the privilege of standing on the steps of the Lincoln 
     Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Washington Monument pierced 
     the air, and the green glow of the Capitol filtered from 
     behind it. I felt powerful, humble, and thankful. Not only 
     are those monuments reflected in the water they rise above, 
     they are reflected in me.
       I realize that even though the states are not always 
     united, and that corruption threatens our freedom, in the 
     capital of my country I can stand and ponder and pray for as 
     long as I want without being threatened or dragged away or 
     embarrassed. We have a starting point for equality. We are 
     all free. The answer for a truly united nation is not at the 
     top of the Washington Monument or clutched by Lady Freedom on 
     the tip of the Capitol. It is as low and as humble as we make 
     it in our hearts. Those monuments are not representing a 
     country about to fall, but a country with the potential to 
     rise, not in concrete, in power, or money, but in unity and 
     goodness. My vision for our nation to be united through 
     spirit begins in the seedbed of real freedom--our hearts.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Davis] is recognized for 5 minutes.

  [Mr. DAVIS addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter in 
the Extensions of Remarks.]

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