Essay Contest Winners
Amy Hensen
Blue Springs South High School

"Citizen Responsibility and the Constitution"

A young girl slogs through the hot sands of Ethiopia. She’s tall, graceful, and would be beautiful if her body wasn’t ravaged by hunger. Shadows haunt her dark, tired eyes; her life is full of abuse and pain. Her spirit, once strong and proud, was broken a long time ago. What kind of life can a slave hope for?

A little boy wanders the streets of Baghdad, lost and alone. Once he had loving parents and a safe home; now he scrounges among garbage cans to find his dinner and sleeps on hard pavement. His dreams are filled with the memory of his parents being dragged away screaming, and he curses their spirits for daring to speak out against a murderous tyrant.

Another young woman lives in constant fear under the government of Saudi Arabia. Her life seems privileged: she has a nice house, plenty of servants, and a wealthy husband. But she trembles before the man who rules her body and soul, powerless under the strength of his fists. To flee his cruelty is illegal.

Warm and safe in an American suburb, I turn off CNN, thanking God for the laws that govern my country. The promise of free speech and equality is rare and precious. They were bought by the sweat and blood of my ancestors, and I know that I, too, must help preserve justice by voting regularly. Voting is my right as an American citizen; by helping to choose wise leaders, I protect myself.

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