[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9717]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          FREEDOM'S OBLIGATION

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                       HON. SHERWOOD L. BOEHLERT

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 2003

  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully submit the words of my 
constituent, Jessica Mattiace of Moravia, NY, for submission into the 
Congressional Record. Jessica was chosen as the winner of the Veterans 
of Foreign Wars broadcast scriptwriting contest for 2003.
  Each year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, VFW, of the United States 
and the Ladies Auxiliary conduct a Voice of Democracy audio/essay 
competition designed to give high school students the opportunity to 
voice their opinion on their responsibility to our country. This year, 
more than 80,000 secondary school students participated in this contest 
competing for the 59 national scholarships. The contest theme for this 
year was ``Freedom's Obligation.''
  I applaud the VFW for continually providing this outlet for young 
people to share their personal views and coordinating this worthy 
competition each year. I also congratulate Ms. Mattiace on her 
achievement and wish her best of luck in her future educational 
ventures.

                          Freedom's Obligation

                 (By New York Winner--Jessica Mattiace)

       It echoes through our courtrooms, sings in our churches, 
     whispers in our hearts--freedom, the very lifeblood of 
     America, the very marrow of our homeland. For this right our 
     fathers fought, and for it they died. So that you and I might 
     say we truly are free, a life was yielded, a heart ceased to 
     beat, a soul, enflamed with the ardent desire to be loosed 
     from the bounds of oppression and persecution, was severed 
     from its mortal frame. How often is such a blessing taken for 
     granted! How often is it abused! How often is it reduced to a 
     right to do whatever one pleases. But this is not what so 
     many men and women gave their lives for. They sought to 
     create a land where all would be granted equal rights, but 
     not where liberty would be considered license for immorality. 
     In our quest to protect and preserve the freedom that has 
     been endowed to us by God, and guaranteed to us by the blood 
     of our fathers, we have created another sort of enslavement, 
     the enslavement to such false ideas of freedom. Freedom has 
     not been granted to us for nothing, and it is our duty to 
     defend it at every moment.
       Although as humans ``Endowed by our Creator,'' as we are 
     told by the Declaration of Independence, ``with certain 
     inalienable rights,'' these have not been given to us without 
     responsibilities. There exists in this country especially, a 
     legacy of liberty which has been passed on from generation to 
     generation, safeguarded and sustained by its citizens. But 
     this freedom is not immutable. We, as Americans, must rise to 
     the responsibilities that face us. When not backed by people, 
     by Americans motivated with the same passion and fervor as 
     the founders of this land, our freedom is but a feeble idea 
     quickly whisked away.
       Has it become this today within our very borders? Although 
     it must still be protected from outside threats, the real 
     threat, the real danger is right here. It is threatened every 
     single time a human life is disregarded or disrespected. With 
     every unborn child prevented from ever taking its first 
     breath, freedom is stifled and its very heart violated. With 
     every hateful word or deed against a person's race, consent 
     is given to forfeit the liberation of an entire country. It 
     truly is a dreadful form of povery when such crimes against 
     life are committed. How can a man stand upon his feet and 
     proclaim his freedom, when he holds the stolen liberty of 
     another in his hands? How can he defend the very thing that 
     he has denied to others? No, it is not possible to secure for 
     oneself what has been usurped from others. When the value of 
     freedom is overlooked in a single human form, it is 
     overlooked for all of humanity. Without compromise, this 
     freedom must be defended and all obstacles and impediments 
     standing before it must be defeated.
       Our obligation to protect freedom begins within our homes, 
     in our day-to-day life choices which affect others. What we 
     value shows in our daily lives, and is reflected in our 
     government. We are under a government put in place by 
     ourselves and for ourselves. What is allowable, what is just, 
     what is humane is before us to decide. We make the decision 
     not merely by how we vote, but by how we speak, how we act, 
     how we live.
       In our refusal to forfeit human rights and dignity through 
     our every action, we become a powerful testament to true 
     freedom and liberty for all. To act in this way is our 
     obligation; this is what we have been called to do by those 
     who first ensured for us our freedom. We must live as free 
     people, people valuing the liberty of all. Only then shall we 
     truly be free. Only then shall this freedom be our 
     possession, and only then will we be able to defend it from 
     those who might attempt to snatch it from us.

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