[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 51 (Thursday, April 30, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E722-E723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ``MY VOICE IN OUR DEMOCRACY''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 1998

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker. I remember from my own High 
School days the benefit I gained from participating in the Voice of 
Democracy contest, and I am therefore particularly pleased to share 
here with our colleagues the winning Massachusetts entry in the 1997-
1998 VFW Voice of Democracy scriptwriting competition.
  The winner, Leah Makuch, did an excellent job of expressing her 
understanding of the democratic system in which we Americans are 
fortunate enough to live. I am sometimes disappointed that more 
teenagers do not take advantage of the opportunities which our 
democratic system offers them, and thus I was particularly pleased to 
read Leah Makuch's excellent exposition on this subject, and I am for 
this reason very happy to have a chance to make it widely available.

                     ``My Voice in Our Democracy''


 1997-98 VFW Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition Massachusetts 
                                 Winner

                            (By Leah Makuch)

       So many parts of this world are silent. So many people are 
     silenced by governments afraid of the power of speech, afraid 
     of the people they seek to control. They use their 
     governmental power against the members of their own country.
       On the contrary, I live where I am allowed to speak, 
     encouraged to speak, even required to speak by my human 
     responsibilities. I live in a country of loud voices shouting 
     their opinions, in a country where this is expected. I live 
     in a democracy, and my voice counts.
       On the literal level, my voice is rather quiet. Yet I have 
     the power to speak loudly and firmly, to shout my beliefs 
     unto listening ears. My words reverberate through the great 
     Rocky mountains and are projected over the marquee in Times 
     Square, carried along every television network and telephone 
     line, even electronically transmitted to millions of 
     computers all over America. When I choose not to buy a 
     particular product because its manufacturer endorses 
     something I oppose, I am speaking my message to this 
     manufacturer. When I petition against a congressional bill, I 
     speak my opposition loudly and clearly. And although I cannot 
     legally vote, my voice is heard through the votes of my 
     parents and family members. I am a member of a democracy, and 
     it is my responsibility to make myself heard.
       Here I stand, right now, on the soapbox of this cassette 
     tape, confident that when I speak about democracy, someone is 
     listening. The ears upon which my words fall are not deaf to 
     my message. I am being listened to at this very moment, and 
     my voice as an American, as a member of a democracy, is 
     respected as being worth hearing. For this reason, if for no 
     other, I should speak. I should speak, I must speak, for that 
     which I believe in and against that which I oppose, because 
     in my heart I know that someone will hear my words. I live in 
     a great democratic puzzle, and my piece fits where no other 
     can. I am not excluded because I am young. I am included 
     because I am worth listening to.
       The American Heritage Dictionary defines democracy as ``the 
     common people, considered as the primary source of political 
     power.'' I am a member of this common people, this source of 
     power. What other united, non-democratic peoples would not 
     scoff at my words proclaiming myself as such? This democracy 
     in which I live sees me as this, however. This democracy 
     recognizes my voice as a consumer, future voter, a thinker, 
     and, most importantly of all, as a human being.
       As a human being, I have been granted inalienable rights, 
     most notably the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
     happiness. Primarily, my right to life. Is my life complete, 
     if I have no say in how it is led? Therefore, my voice is a 
     central part of my right to life. I have the right to 
     liberty. This liberty is a liberty of the mind, heart, and 
     soul, a liberty to make my wishes known and live in fear of 
     being persecuted. My voice is my liberty. I have the right to 
     the pursuit of happiness. I have the right to seek out that 
     which makes me happy and support it with the God-given voice 
     inside of me. My voice is the means by which I can pursue my 
     happiness. Therefore, with my voice being a central theme in 
     my rights as a human being, I have four primary inalienable 
     rights: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the 
     voice by which to fulfill these. My voice is my right as a 
     human being.
       On face value, it sounds like a right that can be taken 
     lightly. Freedom of speech.

[[Page E723]]

     This first amendment should read: ``responsibility of 
     speech.'' I have the right and the responsibility to speak in 
     support of goodness and truth, to speak for those who have no 
     voices.
       By these standards, who would oppose this democracy? Who 
     would oppose a family of people with voices, who exercise 
     their natural rights and speak directly to their government 
     for the good of all? My voice in our democracy speaks loudly, 
     and with the same weight as all other voices carry, whether 
     they belong to bodies older, younger, or of a different color 
     than my own. It baffles me why so many people have no 
     pressing desire to become a citizen of this fine democracy. 
     The chance to have a voice in one's own country, to influence 
     the world with what one has to say, is a powerful 
     opportunity. Presented to many countries of the world, this 
     tantalizing chance would be fought for like it was at our 
     country's birth, when the first Americans would not let their 
     voices go unheard. How fortunate to live in a country where 
     lives are not lost searching for their voices!
       I am lucky to live in such a democracy. I am fortunate to 
     be able to speak without fear of persecution, to voice my 
     message to the world. So many voiceless people do not have 
     this chance. And as I speak on the importance of my voice and 
     the voice of others, I have already made the first step . . . 
     and I am being heard.

     

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