[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 126 (Tuesday, August 1, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1575-E1576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  CONGRATULATIONS TO TERRY JAMES McCOY

                                 ______


                         HON. CHARLES H. TAYLOR

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 1, 1995

  Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure 
that I offer my congratulations to Terry James McCoy of Franklin, NC, 
who has been named a national winner in the 1995 Voice of Democracy 
broadcast scriptwriting contest.
  The program was started 48 years ago and since 1958 has been 
sponsored each year by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United 
States and its Ladies Auxiliary.
  Students competing in the contest write and record a 3-to-5-minute 
essay on a patriotic theme. This year more than 126,000 secondary 
school students nationwide participated in the contest competing for 
the 54 national scholarships.
  McCoy, a recent graduate of Franklin High School, was named the North 
Carolina State winner for his script, ``My Vision for America,'' and 
was awarded the $2,000 Jesse A. Lewis Memorial Scholarship Award.
  I congratulate Terry on an outstanding accomplishment and ask that 
his script be placed in the Record.
                         My Vision for America

                         (By Terry James McCoy)

       The United States of America was, and is, an experiment. In 
     its brief two hundred and eighteen years as an independent 
     nation, America has stood the test of destruction many times. 
     Every time this nation is engaged in a battle, it is tested. 
     Every time America experiences a lapse in its economy, it is 
     tested. When American citizens burn the symbol of this great 
     land, it is tested.
       The Civil War was possibly this nations greatest trial. 
     Descension among citizens has never been this high. As states 
     began to secede, hatred towards one another began to grow. 
     Many were declaring this, ``the end of democracy, and this 
     nation.'' How fortunate, that from the fields of Illinois 
     there came a tall, powerful man. This man has vision for 
     America. He could see past the hatred and the violence. He 
     saw America as it should have been. Abraham Lincoln led a 
     nation out of its greatest test and left it far better than 
     he found it.

[[Page E1576]]

       The Great Depression is yet another potentially disastrous 
     predicament that America has had to face. The United States' 
     economy was in shambles. It was not only an economic 
     depression but a social depression as well. Unemployment was 
     at an all time high. Yet again there were those who said 
     that, ``capitalism has failed, its the end of this nation.'' 
     Children were starving, families were destroyed, and American 
     citizens were without hope. Through the midst of this 
     terrible time, a great leader cam to the forefront. He showed 
     the American people that there was hope. He promised them 
     that America could pull through this evil beast, called the 
     Great Depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a vision for 
     America. Roosevelt knew that America could quickly become the 
     worlds largest economic and militaristic super power. 
     Franklin Roosevelt never saw the day when America became what 
     he dreamed it to be. His vision is still very much alive in 
     this country and will continue to be alive as long as 
     American citizens are students of its history.
       These two men contributed more to this nation than we will 
     ever realize. Their visions are still very much a part of 
     this country. However, their visions are not the only visions 
     that have influenced America. Every citizen of this nation 
     has had a vision for America's future. For example, Susan B. 
     Anthony had a very simple vision. It was a vision in which 
     all Americans had the right to vote.
       Henry Ford had a vision in which all the people of this 
     country could afford and own their own car. The Wright 
     brothers dreamed of an America in which people could travel 
     through the air to get to their destinations. These visions 
     for America were not just fantasies that only existed in 
     these dreamer's heads, but they were attainable ideals that 
     many other American's shared with them.
       What is my vision for America? It is one of idealism, but 
     attainable idealism. I see an America in which citizens can 
     put faith in those that govern them. I see an America in 
     which if you destroy the United States Flag, the very symbol 
     of our freedom and our pride, not only will you be breaking a 
     federal law but you will be directly defying the United 
     States Constitution. My vision for America is one in which we 
     stand proud of those that have served this nation so well, 
     both in military service and civilian service. I foresee a 
     nation where school children are no longer afraid of violence 
     in their own schools. I dream of the day when the people of 
     this nation can once again stroll the streets in safety. I 
     look forward to an America where people are proud of it and 
     its rich history. This is my vision for America.
     

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