[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 51 (Thursday, March 26, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MADISON BRASUELL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 26, 2015

  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the 
brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my 
Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening 
to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. 
They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger 
constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of 
being an active participant in the political process. Many of the 
students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am 
pleased to share them with my House colleagues.
  Madison Brasuell attends Foster High School in Richmond, Texas. The 
essay topic is: In your opinion, what role should government play in 
our lives?

       The role that our government should play in our lives is a 
     question being prodded back and forth between Congressmen and 
     women since the creation of our nation. The answer is 
     subjective, of course, because it is impossible to make 320 
     million people happy with the system by which our government 
     is ran. The efficacy of our current system, however, is 
     questionable at times and I believe that the government 
     should play a minuet role in our lives.
       I should start by noting that we are lucky to live in a 
     country that gives us so much freedom in our daily lives. We 
     are given, in my opinion, the most important facet anyone 
     could ask for: the freedom of speech. With this amendment, we 
     have the liberty to tell our government how we really feel 
     and not fear the consequences for voicing our expressions. 
     Though more often than not our government hears our desires 
     and doesn't do anything about it. They promise to minimally 
     interfere with our lives but then set new regulations on 
     sectors that directly impact our lives and wind up hurting us 
     in the end. It is unacceptable for a government to not 
     genuinely care for its people.
       I would ideally choose to live in an environment where 
     there is a strong state government with little national 
     government intervention. The national government's only job 
     should be to provide a system defense, build and maintain 
     highway systems and infrastructure, provide police 
     enforcement, and keep peaceful trade facilitated with other 
     countries. I feel that the government should have no control 
     on our healthcare system, other than impose strict 
     regulations, such as the certification of medical 
     professionals and sanitation laws. I also believe that the 
     government has no business interfering with our money except 
     the protection against monopolies and the strict investment 
     regulations. Other than that, I would say making the national 
     government stronger would be detrimental to our nation.
       My utopian government has flaws, as does every plan, but 
     many Americans would agree on making the national government 
     weaker. This would give Americans more freedom of choice 
     because they would have more control over their lives and not 
     have a ``government shadow'' tracking their every move. By 
     having a government focus primarily on its safety of their 
     people, they can focus less on trying to satisfy each 
     individual and more on satisfying the nation as a whole.

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