[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 44 (Tuesday, April 15, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E653]]
                THE CONSTITUTION AND THE AMERICAN DREAM

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM F. GOODLING

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 15, 1997

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I want to share with you one of the best 
speeches I have ever heard. It was not delivered by a professional 
speaker, but by a professional student at the Christian School of York 
before several hundred people attending a banquet.
  Jonathan delivered the speech with conviction and compassion--without 
notes.

                The Constitution and the American Dream

           (By Jonathan D. Markley, Christian School of York)

     ``Give me your tired, your poor,
     Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free!''

       When hundreds of foreign immigrants mouthed these words in 
     the late 1800s, they dreamt the impossible dream: freedom! 
     They came, from Ireland, and Poland, and Southeastern Europe. 
     These families risked, quite literally, everything that they 
     called their own. They severed their traditional family ties 
     to the homeland. And they chased after something that was 
     truly inconceivable to them and yet, for once, absolutely 
     within their grasp. What earthly call could possibly elicit 
     so great a sacrifice? That call was freedom! The call of the 
     American Dream!
       It has been well over one hundred years now since Emma 
     Lazarus penned those exhilarating words. Yet, in the interim, 
     the same Dream that beckoned immigrants to our shores has 
     been abused. That Dream requires that we be involved in our 
     government. It is not an option; rather it is a God-given 
     privilege! And because we have proven lax in our 
     responsibilities, our patriotic American Dream is fading . . 
     . fading into a maze of apathy. For example, only 49% of the 
     American people voted in last year's election . . . 
     Certainly, we have shirked our duties!
       The American Dream, with its rights and responsibilities, 
     is guaranteed by two theories built into our United States 
     Constitution. These concepts, Limited Government and Popular 
     Sovereignty, remove the power of government from any one 
     party and, instead, vest that power totally in the control of 
     the people. Our Constitution does not refer to a ruling body 
     with absolute authority; but, rather, the preamble states, 
     ``We the People . . . do ordain and establish this 
     Constitution for the United States of America.'' What a 
     revolutionary idea: People ruling themselves! Government by 
     the consent of the governed! The conclusion of this argument, 
     therefore, is that such freedoms demand our involvement.
       We can readily observe just how severely the sands of time 
     have dulled our sense of this privilege. In this decade, our 
     court dockets are jammed with tort litigation suits, totally 
     countless millions; proving, once again, that our concept of 
     the American Dream seems limited to personal benefits instead 
     of prosperity for all Americans. Consider the epidemic of 
     flag-burning--deliberately desecrating our country's ideals. 
     My friends, this is not merely an issue of a person's rights 
     to burn a piece of fabric. No! It is indicative of a mindset 
     that pervades our nation and threatens to stifle our 
     comprehension of the true essence of liberty in a free 
     society.
       Our passion for patriotism has flickered dangerously in the 
     last decades. Today, it is not uncommon for many to argue 
     against the Constitution and against American Dream, as if 
     the former is hopelessly dogmatic and hackneyed and the 
     latter is only realized by avaricious capitalists. How 
     they are wrong!
       To see what the American Dream really symbolizes, journey 
     with me to Valley Forge in the winter of 1778. As the 
     torrents of snow cascaded down upon the remnants of the 
     Continental Army, they were realizing tremendous personal 
     sacrifice for this ideal of freedom. Nevertheless, an 
     internal spark motivated them to lay down their own lives 
     upon the fields of Brandywine and Bunker Hill. They never 
     wavered in their patriotic dedication to our infant republic. 
     In the words of Bart McDowell, they all were guilty of 
     treason. ``They knew the risks--death by hanging for 
     themselves, poverty and dishonor for their families--,'' and 
     yet there was absolute conviction in Patrick Henry's voice 
     when he asked ``Is life so dear, is peace so sweet, as to be 
     purchased at the price of chains and slavery?'' What then 
     followed was one of the most noble allegiances ever made to 
     America. he said, ``I know not what course others may take; 
     but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!'' His words 
     shook both those house chambers and the hearts of every soul 
     who was willing to protect liberty with life itself, if 
     sacrifice so required. Today, where is that spirit, that 
     zeal, that fire of patriotism?
       After our revolution, they founded a document to protect 
     that Dream for their posterity. Their Constitution has guided 
     our country through two hundred years of change and 
     transition: through war and peace; through slavery and 
     emancipation; through poverty and prosperity. Our 
     Constitution has been a beacon of hope for our citizens, 
     challenging them to dream, regardless of their birth; or 
     nationality; or creed; or religion. Because our forefathers 
     struggled valiantly to obtain these hopes and dreams, we 
     cannot afford to be apathetic! Becoming involved is hardly 
     convenient, but we must measure our own consecration to this 
     cause in light of their noblest of sacrifices, their purest 
     form of heroism. Far from being dogmatic or hackneyed, our 
     Constitution has transcended time. Certainly, it is not 
     obsolete! Certainly, it can lead us into the next century!
       Let us remember once again, let us ponder deeply the words 
     of Emma Lazarus. Somehow, these words paint a poignant image 
     of the American Dream that must never be expunged from our 
     consciences. Once we have ascertained these privelages, we 
     must be willing to pay the price:

     ``Give me your tired, your poor,
     your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free,
     The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
     Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me.
     I lift my lamp beside the golden door!''

       I pray, that that lamp, beside that golden door, may never 
     be extinguished in our world!

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