[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1376-E1377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          HONORING JOHN MEISE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 23, 1999

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, each year the Veterans of Foreign Wars of 
the United States and its Ladies Auxiliary sponsor the Voice of 
Democracy audio-essay scholarship competition. The program is now in 
its 52nd year and requires high school student entrants to write and 
record a three-to-five minute essay on an announced patriotic theme. 
This year's theme is ``My Service to America'', and over 80,000 
students participate in the program nationwide.
  It gives me great pleasure to announce that John Meise, a senior at 
Mount St. Joseph High School in Maryland's 7th Congressional District, 
has been named a National winner in the 1999 Voice of Democracy Program 
and recipient of the $1,000 Ervin and Lorraine

[[Page E1377]]

Rothenbuhler Scholarship Award. He plans a career in medicine. John was 
sponsored by VFW Post 6484 in Woodlawn Maryland.
  Following is Mr. Meise's submission.

       Ever since July 4, 1776, the citizens of the United States 
     of America has served their country in a myriad of ways. Such 
     service, is what preserves the ideals for which we stand in 
     the United States: ``life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
     Happiness.'' These three are the most elemental principles on 
     which our great country rests. Through service to America and 
     our fellow citizens, we can guard those ideals from which our 
     forefathers set forth in the declaration of independence.
       The right, that we treasure most, is life. Human life is to 
     be held in the highest regard because we believe that 
     everyone is equal. Color, religion, and social standing do 
     not provide a basis on which a person is to be judged. Since 
     we are all citizens of the United States we are equal. 
     Community service can help us to realize this fully.
       During my sophomore and junior years of high school, I 
     volunteered at the University of Maryland Hosptial's Shock 
     Trauma Center. I completed approximately two hundred hours of 
     service there and I enjoyed every minute of it. Through the 
     hospital I was able to help people that were in terrible 
     predicaments. I offered by services to people on all rungs of 
     the social ladder and through that I made an important 
     personal discovery. I observed that social class did not pre-
     determine a person's disposition. Some the the poorest 
     patients I met were probably the most kind-hearted. Whether I 
     was running a patient's blood to the lab for tests or feeding 
     a paraplegic man his dinner, I knew I was helping someone 
     important. I also knew that I was offering such service 
     without expecting anything in return. I believe the 
     satisfaction I received in my efforts at the hospital 
     illustrates what the American character is all about. Through 
     cooperation and helping others we actually provide a service 
     to America itself in what we promote the basis morals and 
     values which our society cannot progress.
       As Americans, we hold liberty to be one of the most 
     important aspects of our lives. We have the freedom to choose 
     what we want to do. We may take this liberty for granted, but 
     many people live in countries where they are not granted the 
     freedoms that we use everyday. I feel that this freedom must 
     be protected if we are to continue to live our lives the way 
     we have always lived them.
       Our armed forces are one of the instruments, which serve to 
     protect this most precious liberty. I belive the best way for 
     me to serve my country and protect such an ideal is by 
     serving in the armed forces. Presently, I am applying to both 
     the Naval Academy at Annapolis and the Military Academy at 
     West Point in the hope that I may be granted an appointment 
     to one of these institutions, so I might be allowed the 
     opportunity to serve my country this way. I have aspired to 
     serve in the military my entire life and I have been inspired 
     by the many people who have served and by the many who have 
     sacrificed their lives in their country's service.
       A few years ago, I was an instructor at a Red Cross program 
     for kids who did not know how to swim. We taught them the 
     rudiments of water activity. I got a thrill seeing children, 
     who had been previously afraid of the water, now able to swim 
     and play in the water and enjoy it. This reminds me that the 
     ``pursuit of happiness'' in this situation would be quite 
     impossible without the help of the volunteers.
       We willingly committed ourselves to helping the children 
     pursue happiness. Once again, this shows how service is one 
     of the underlying factors in the American character.
       While many different people give service in many different 
     ways, these citizens ultimately provide a solid core around 
     on which our country can rest. Everyone's individual service 
     to others eventually unfolds to a single service to America: 
     its preservation. Through volunteering our time, we maintain 
     the very ideals for which the thirteen original colonies 
     broke away from England, In service we continue and protect 
     our freedom, our life, and our pursuit of happiness.''

     

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