So here is the text of that award-winning essay from eighth-grade me, circa 1986. Although I warn you that you don't get the same effect reading it digitally as you do seeing it created with a dot-matrix printer.
Freedom Under the Stars and Stripes
The freedom and liberties we have in this country are numerous. This nation was built by our founding fathers on the idea of "liberty and justice for all".
In the United States we have freedom of speech. We have the choice that other countries don't have to proclaim our like or dislike for our government. We can say whatever we want in public.
We have freedom of the press. Any newspaper or news report can say or print what they want whenever they choose. TV and radio news can also say what they want about government personnel or events.
With freedom of religion we have the right to go to church or not and to decide which religion to be. We also have the right to worship in public and not be persecuted for having certain beliefs.
Some foreign countries don't give people the right to travel around in their own nation. In the Soviet bloc you can not travel without a permit.
This country gives us many freedoms that we take for granted. The most important freedom we have in the United States that we take for granted is the right to vote. In hundred of countries the leader is a dictator who puts himself in power or there is only one name on the voting ballot. We are very luck y that we can put whomever we want in office, take anybody out who isn't doing a good job, and generally have a say in government affairs.
The freedom of choice is another liberty most Americans take for granted. In some countries people don't have the opportunity to decide whether or not they want ot go to college or if they would like to own businesses or property.
Other countries don't like the freedoms we enjoy in America. The think that if they give people freedom they will overthrow the government.
The justices and liberties we have in this great nation make us very lucky. We have more advantages in this country than other people dream of. We should all be glad to be Americans.
In the United States we have freedom of speech. We have the choice that other countries don't have to proclaim our like or dislike for our government. We can say whatever we want in public.
We have freedom of the press. Any newspaper or news report can say or print what they want whenever they choose. TV and radio news can also say what they want about government personnel or events.
With freedom of religion we have the right to go to church or not and to decide which religion to be. We also have the right to worship in public and not be persecuted for having certain beliefs.
Some foreign countries don't give people the right to travel around in their own nation. In the Soviet bloc you can not travel without a permit.
This country gives us many freedoms that we take for granted. The most important freedom we have in the United States that we take for granted is the right to vote. In hundred of countries the leader is a dictator who puts himself in power or there is only one name on the voting ballot. We are very luck y that we can put whomever we want in office, take anybody out who isn't doing a good job, and generally have a say in government affairs.
The freedom of choice is another liberty most Americans take for granted. In some countries people don't have the opportunity to decide whether or not they want ot go to college or if they would like to own businesses or property.
Other countries don't like the freedoms we enjoy in America. The think that if they give people freedom they will overthrow the government.
The justices and liberties we have in this great nation make us very lucky. We have more advantages in this country than other people dream of. We should all be glad to be Americans.
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