[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1006]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO ADAM DEFOE

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                           HON. EARL POMEROY

                            of north dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 1997

  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize an 
impressive young North Dakotan. Adam DeFoe of Devils Lake was the 1997 
State winner in the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Voice Democracy Broadcast 
Scriptwriting Contest. Mr. DeFoe's essay is based on the theme 
``Democracy--Above and Beyond''.
  I am very excited to see such worthwhile ideas coming from North 
Dakota's youth. It is my pleasure to submit Mr. DeFoe's essay for 
inclusion in the Congressional Record:

                      Democracy--Above and Beyond

                            (By Adam DeFoe)

       ``Democracy, above and beyond all other forms of 
     government. What exactly does this phrase mean? To find out, 
     I took each letter of democracy and found a word befitting 
     this form of government starting with that letter. It is as 
     follows.
       First of course is `D'. I chose two words for this letter. 
     The first is dependence. Democracy stands for dependence upon 
     the people for an efficient government unit. Dependence upon 
     the people is the key to democracy, for without the people's 
     say in the government, what kind of government is it?
       My next word is dauntless. Synonyms for this word include 
     fearless and bold. A democracy is indeed dauntless because it 
     is government by the people. If the people are in charge, of 
     course they will be bold and fearless. This is what they 
     fought for, went above and beyond their call of duty for, for 
     a government that is indeed above and beyond all others.
       Next, we have the letter `E'. For this letter I chose 
     empowerment. Again we come back to the people. The people are 
     indeed empowered in Democracy as it is their form of 
     government: ``of the people, by the people, for the people''. 
     Without a government such as a democracy, the people would 
     have little or no say in the government, as is the case in 
     lower forms of government such as a tyranny or monarchy, 
     where the rule is just by a few and oftentimes by the least 
     competent few.
       We move on now to the letter `M'. For this letter I settled 
     upon majority rule. A democracy is rule by the majority, not 
     by just the wealthy or by those who inherit their positions. 
     The voice of the majority is heard and ruled upon. The laws 
     of the country are governed as such. This is government in 
     its truest form, this is democracy.
       Now we have `O'. For `O' we have obligation. This word 
     relates not only to the Democratic government, but also to 
     the people. The government's first and foremost duty is to do 
     what is right for the people, to defend and protect their 
     rights and interests. However, these people, too, are obliged 
     to see that the government does these things, to see that the 
     government is run well and efficiently. Moreover, it is the 
     people's obligation to vote, so that their voice may be 
     heard. For without this very important part of the democratic 
     process it is very hard for the government, or democracy as a 
     whole, to be above and beyond all other forms of government.
       This brings us now to the letter `C'. I found the word 
     `change' to be appropriate for this letter. People crave 
     changes. Democracy gives them that. True, other forms of 
     government do give change, such as a monarchy, for example, 
     but in a democracy it's good change, a change the people 
     want. Also, a change that democracy needs, to have fresh 
     ideas and thoughts in the government. It is the people's 
     responsibility to see that this change is brought forth.
       Next, we have `R'. Resilience. It is my belief that a 
     democratic government is resilient. Resilience to change, and 
     to recover quickly from these changes that are imperative to 
     Democracy. Resilience is also needed to recover quickly from 
     misfortune. The people in a democratic nation may band 
     together more quickly than would other nations with other 
     forms of government for the reason that they've had to work 
     together in the past to form and make their democratic 
     government work and will remain banded together in times of 
     disaster.
       After that comes `A'. For `A' we have adapt. This word is 
     important to democracy in that democracy has evolved over 
     time from other forms of government such as the caste system. 
     Democracy originated in Ancient Greece and has since then 
     adapted and changed to the needs of modern society.
       Moving on now `C', we have culture. A democracy can 
     represent all forms of culture in a nation. It can represent 
     all of the people, rich or poor, educated or not. This is the 
     essence of democracy, representing all walks of life equally. 
     Favoring no one. Going ``above and beyond all other forms of 
     government'' in this way.
       Finally we come to the letter `Y'. For this I have chosen 
     the word `yes'. The word `yes' in that I say yes to 
     democracy, a fine government in which people can express 
     their opinions without fear of oppression. A government where 
     people can guarantee themselves the freedoms they want. Yes, 
     a democracy, above and beyond all forms of government. I 
     think it's spelled out quite clearly.''

     

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