[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 35 (Tuesday, March 18, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      DEMOCRACY--ABOVE AND BEYOND

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                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 18, 1997

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, enclosed is a copy of a speech by Micah 
Genzlinger, a senior at South Burlington High School in Vermont. Micah 
is the Vermont winner of the VFW's Voice of Democracy broadcast 
scriptwriting contest. His speech reflects a passion for democracy of 
which I am proud. I am inserting his speech in the Congressional Record 
as I believe it will benefit my colleagues.

                      Democracy--Above and Beyond

                         (By Micah Genzlinger)

       If I may, I would like to briefly tell you a little about 
     my life. When I was born, my parents had the freedom to give 
     me any name they wanted. They had the freedom to teach me 
     what they thought was important. They had the freedom to show 
     me what they thought I should see. They had the freedom to 
     choose what kind of school I should attend. The freedom to 
     bring me up in a family where they see the values, shared 
     their belief in God, and taught what they considered right 
     and wrong.
       As the decisions became mine, I could choose who I was 
     friends with, what types of music to listen to, what kinds of 
     clothes to wear, what sports to participate in, and many 
     other things. Soon I will be making bigger decisions: who to 
     vote for in the elections, what college to attend, what I 
     should do with the rest of my life, what religion I should 
     study, and more. I am even free to disagree with what my 
     parents taught me.
       You may wonder why I told you about my life. Well, I did it 
     for one reason only, to show you how good we have it in a 
     democracy. Some don't believe we are any better off, but only 
     in a democracy do you have the freedom to say what is on your 
     mind and to express your inner-self without fear of 
     punishment from the government. We have the freedom to choose 
     our jobs and to choose what cities to live in. We also have 
     the freedom to decide how we are going to live; whether that 
     be in an apartment or in a house.
       Some say the government is holding us down. I ask those 
     people to look around the world. To look at the countries 
     that decide what its youth will do with their lives without 
     having any say, or look at the countries that kill people for 
     speaking out against the government. Look at countries that 
     limit the number of children a single family can have. Then 
     try to tell me that we are worse off living in a democracy.
       I think my generation has become used to the fact that we 
     have so much freedom and does not understand the true value 
     of our democracy. When I watch the news on television I see 
     the scenes from Bosnia or the Middle East, I am reminded that 
     we have a very special freedom. When I look back in history 
     at the walls constructed in Germany, I can't even imagine 
     what it was like living in fear of being jailed for doing 
     nothing wrong, or not even being able to see any of my family 
     members because they were on the other side of the wall. Most 
     of all I can't even imagine what it would be like not being 
     free.
       Our country is not perfect. We have poverty, unemployment, 
     crime and many other problems. But we have the most important 
     things: a democratic country that allows us to make our own 
     decisions, to live the way we want to live, to work at the 
     job we want to do, to raise as many children as we feel we 
     should have, and so much more. But most of all we can be 
     free.

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