[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 28 (Thursday, March 6, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page E406]]



                      DEMOCRACY--ABOVE AND BEYOND

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL BARRETT

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 6, 1997

  Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I have received the following 
script, by Sarah Brozek, a fine young Nebraskan. Sarah is the Nebraska 
winner for the Voice of Democracy broadcast scriptwriting contest, 
conducted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Ladies Auxiliary. I 
believe her statement on the costs and obligations of living in a free 
society are important for us to consider:

                      Democracy--Above and Beyond

                           (By Sarah Brozek)

       As Edmund Burke once said, ``The only thing necessary for 
     the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.''
       As citizens of democracy, we are compelled to take action 
     against that which threatens our freedom. Democracy, as 
     opposed to any autocratic style of government, depends upon 
     that voluntary responsibility and sacrifice of its citizens, 
     unlike other forms of government such as totalitarianism, 
     communism and socialism which take away the responsibilities 
     of its citizens and create dependency, instead of 
     independence.
       Therefore, as citizens of the United States, it becomes 
     essential to rise above the mere act of belonging to a great 
     nation. We must move beyond settling for privileges and 
     forgetting our principles. We must be responsible enough to 
     take action above and beyond those that satisfy our own self-
     serving needs. It is not enough to say our pledge to the flag 
     and say we love our country. It is not enough to simply label 
     our form of government as a democracy. It takes action on the 
     part of each individual: voting, standing up for the 
     principles we hold dear, taking responsibility for others who 
     may be oppressed. Democracy involves moral decisions. It 
     pursues a positive hope for the future. It implies a trust in 
     the general integrity of men and women. It cannot survive 
     without sacrifices. There must be a sacrifice of will: that 
     of abiding by the majority rule. This does not mean 
     sacrificing the integrity of self. It means taking a stand of 
     principle on each occasion. Blind allegiance is useless to a 
     strong, democratic country.
       There must be a sacrifice of income. A democracy needs the 
     support of its citizens. Because democracy does involve moral 
     decisions, we must have the means to care for our people, 
     especially those less fortunate and needing our care.
       Democracy also demands a sacrifice of our time. If we let 
     someone else do all the decision making, and let someone else 
     serve our cities and counties, we abdicate our right to be 
     included as a part of the majority and lose our role in our 
     own future. It is necessary for each person to title his or 
     her time to a community service, on a local, state or 
     national level in order to remain aware of current events and 
     to get all the jobs done that need to be done. It also 
     requires a sacrifice of our time to follow and understand 
     national and international events since we are part of the 
     greater world and one of the world leaders. It takes informed 
     choices to make a democracy work.
       Democracy can require a sacrifice of life, sometimes. 
     America was built on people fighting for their values and 
     beliefs. From the revolutionary war to the present, we have 
     had citizens who believe so strongly in the ideals of 
     democracy on a personal level that they have willingly taken 
     arms and laid down their lives to defend those ideals. An 
     ideal not worth fighting for is easily trampled by others. We 
     could lose everything without lifting a finger. As Americans 
     we have the privilege of taking a stand for what we believe 
     in.
       We can sit on our couch and rant and rave against our 
     politicians, but not walk across the street to vote for the 
     one we think will be most effective. We can complain and 
     bemoan our taxes, then curse the condition of the roads and 
     the lack of current technology for our children to learn on 
     at school and never volunteer to help in any community 
     endeavor that has lost funding. We can cry at the rising 
     criminal statistics and yell at the people whose job it is to 
     protect us, but when asked to help in neighborhood watches or 
     attend community meetings to help take a stand against drugs 
     and crime we say we're too busy and what do we ``hire these 
     people for anyway?'' And when we're sitting on our couch and 
     our country is at risk, but we expect someone else to take 
     care of it, we should not be surprised when everything we 
     took for granted disappears in a moment. And the only one we 
     can blame is our self. I am one of thousands who would share 
     the blame. Democracy takes the effort of all of us. We must 
     hold ourselves accountable. That is the heart of effective, 
     living democracy.
       Democracy is not just a noun. It is not just an object to 
     be placed on a pedestal and dusted off any time we feel a 
     little patriotic. Democracy is not only an adjective, just a 
     pretty sounding word that makes us feel superior and smug 
     when we say it. Democracy is a verb. It is action, 
     involvement, doing and saying. It is time, and talents and 
     great effort. It is constant reinforcement and participation. 
     It is vitality and battle. It is continuous work in progress. 
     As Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address, an 
     ``unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so 
     nobly advanced.''

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