[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 75 (Saturday, May 26, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                EMILY CIAK HONORED FOR ESSAY ON FREEDOM

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                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 25, 2001

  Mr. KANJORKSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Emily Ciak, a 
senior at Northwest Area High School in my district, for an essay on 
freedom that she composed for the VFW's Voice of Democracy program. For 
this outstanding essay, Emily placed first at the local level in VFW 
Anthracite Post 283 of Kingston, first place in the District 11 
competition and fourth overall in the Department of Pennsylvania finals 
held in Harrisburg.
  I would also like to thank Al Long, a member of Post 283 and chairman 
of the legislative committee of the Pennsylvania VFW, for bringing 
Emily's essay to my attention.
  I am pleased to call Emily's fine work to the attention of the House 
of Representatives, and I wish her all the best in her future 
endeavors.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to insert a copy of this 
essay into the Congressional Record so that others may read and be 
inspired by it as well:

       I wake up in the morning to an alarm clock. I will then 
     proceed to shower, eat breakfast, and go to school. After 
     school I usually attend an athletic practice, drama practice, 
     youth group band practice, youth group, or even a club 
     meeting. On weekends I work as a grocery store cashier, and I 
     attend church. If I have time throughout my week, I will hang 
     out with friends, talk on the phone, or go on the Internet. 
     What, you're probably asking, is my point?
       Well, the big problem with my life and the life of most 
     young Americans today is that we simply take our lives' 
     freedoms for granted. I don't think about school as a 
     privilege. I don't think about athletics as something that 
     I'm blessed to be involved in. I don't even always think of 
     church as an example of freedom. Why is this?
       According to Webster's dictionary, ``price always implies 
     that an article in for sale; what a man will not sell he 
     declines to put a price on.'' Think about that for a second. 
     A price is only on something that is for sale. Well, if it's 
     for sale it must be bought, right?
       This is our problem. This is the missing link. We tend to 
     forget that our freedom was bought for us. We tend to 
     disregard the importance of the Revolutionary War, the War of 
     1812, the World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. We 
     forget that freedom is not something that every human being 
     is given automatically at birth. Freedom is something that 
     needs to be bought, most times by lives. Freedom is for sale, 
     but it is something that is not easily placed on the market.
       As I go through each day, I hardy ever stop to think why I 
     am privileged to be an American. I take it for granted that I 
     have food on the table, a public education, and the freedom 
     to do what my life as I choose. I think this is something I 
     should change. It is something that Americans need to change. 
     We need to stop our busy lives for a second and start 
     thinking about this price of freedom.
       Men and women served our country to make it into the place 
     it is now. They fought for our country, and won for our 
     country. Even today we still have veterans alive that have 
     gone through the war. They know what it's like to be a true 
     patriot, loyal to our country. They know what it's like to 
     see their friends dying in battle next to them. They know 
     what it feels like to have their freedom at risk. We, as the 
     ones who do not know of a life without freedom, need to start 
     appreciating our veterans and start appreciating our war 
     heroes of both the past and present. We need to recognize how 
     precious our freedom is and how at any given second it could 
     be snatched from our hands. We need to give credit where 
     credit is due and stop forgetting that life is a gift.
       Now if our freedom was bought for a price, and this price 
     was war and death, then wouldn't it be great if our freedom 
     was forever? If something is bought for a price, it can just 
     as easily be given away or re-sold. Considering that our 
     freedom could be snatched away from us brings up an important 
     responsibility issue. We, as citizens of the United States of 
     America, have the responsibility to make sure our freedom 
     will last. We need to make every effort to stand up for 
     ourselves in the times of danger. We need to take action when 
     our freedom is in jeopardy and we have to remember how 
     precious our freedom really is.
       Just as easily as a priced item can be re-sold or given 
     away, it can also just as easily be preserved and kept by one 
     owner for a very long time and passed on from generation to 
     generation in his/her family line. This, America, correlates 
     with our own duty regarding freedom. We must pass on this 
     gift of freedom that our previous generations have fought for 
     and that our present generations are now preserving for us 
     and for our future generations. We need to teach the younger 
     generations about the importance of our freedom and about the 
     importance of its preservation. Just as freedom is not a 
     birthright, it is also not something that American babies 
     being born today, or at any other time, automatically 
     recognize as a gift to keep. We are the ones that need to 
     pass on this torch of freedom and loyalty to our country. We 
     need to set the precedent and be the example. Freedom does 
     have a high price, and all must know about this.
       Yes, I will still wake up to an alarm. I will still attend 
     school. I will play in my youth group's band. However, I have 
     now realized that I must appreciate the fact that I can 
     freely participate in such activities and show others the 
     value of freedom. Thank you, servicemen and servicewomen for 
     allowing me to live a life of freedom; and thank you for 
     paying the price for this freedom.

     

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