What Makes a Nation Strong?
Now perhaps more than ever, the United States confronts questions about its strength as a nation and a world leader. Some point to crumbling bridges, failing schools, income inequality, the trade imbalance, the paralysis in Congress as signs that the U.S. is on the decline. Others are more optimistic. So what makes a nation strong?
This is the question we posed for this year's WKCD Annual Graduation Speech Contest. As in the past, students didn't need to be a graduating senior to enter the contest. They simply needed to write a compelling speech they'd like to give, whether they were graduating from 7th grade or 10th.
We received an abundance of fresh opinions and ideas. Middle schooler Zoe Brohm spoke about the role of confidence in making a nation strong. She gave a shout out to our 44th President: "Just think, if President Barack Obama —our first African-American President —had never realized his extreme intelligence or that there was a possibility for him to be a first and make a change. I would’t know for sure, but I can probably speak for most of us out there when I say that it would take a lot of confidence to actually think: 'Hey, I’m going to try and be the first African-American to ever sit in the Oval Office.'" Perhaps in reaction to the Great Recession, a number of students wrote about the power of "positivity" and pulling together.Here we share the speeches we selected as winners and runners up. It was a tough decision!
WINNERS
Malcom Davis, 8th grade, Berea Community Middle School, Berea, KY
Strength in Diversity
I personally believe that to have a successful and strong nation you need three types of diversity: cultural, intellectual, and socio-economic. My goal today is not to persuade you, but to inform you about the helpful effects of these diversities. Now for some of my reasons.
Cultural diversity is the diversity of cultures and races. Cultural diversity is important because of the fact that in many different cultures, there are different solutions and guidelines to follow. This could be such as respecting nature, less polluting ways of growing and harvesting crops, and many more. These suggestions of solutions from different cultures can help us as a country and as a world by showing us that the easiest way is not always the best way. Cultural diversity also influences the arts, and how people look at conflicts.
Intellectual diversity is the second type of diversity I will talk to you about. It is the presence of many kinds of thinking; today, it is often associated with politics, such as realism, conservatism, and capitalism. Although this is sometimes true, intellectual diversity spreads all the way from politicians to introverts, from urban expansionists to environmentalists. Intellectual diversity helps us as a country by bringing more ideas to the table than just one type of thinking.
The third type of diversity is socio-economic. It stands completely apart from cultural and intellectual diversity; it focuses on the differences in social and economic classes. An example of an ideal socio-economic outcome would be a better-constructed society, with less separation between classes. This means that there would be better communication between social and economic classes. This also means that when the government is considering improving things for citizens, it thinks about the special conditions of the upper, middle, and lower classes and not the population as a whole.
As you can see, separately these types of diversity are each aspects of a successful nation. Together, they contribute to make a near perfect community. To make things happen, we don’t always have to invent a new kind of machine, we just have to invent a new kind of thinking. This is why I feel that cultural, intellectual, and socio-economic diversity are truly necessary to make a nation strong.
Rachel Herb, 7th grade, Bay Lane Middle School, Muskego, WI
Faith and Family
What makes our nation strong? If you asked this question, many people would say that it’s our military. Others would say it’s all thanks to our government, and the presidents that we’ve had over the years. These are the most common answers I’ve heard. But, that’s not all that’s important. There are other people that think that it is the people too, that keep this nation strong. For example, I asked my classmates in a survey, “What makes our nation strong?” One student said, “I think freedom, trust, and being treated equally make our nation strong.” Another student said, “The people that live in it and the choices they make.” Another said, “Freedom, trust, something to believe in and equality between persons.” I think these are all good answers and good opinions of each of these students too. I though, as a student, have another opinion too.
For me, I am very close to my family and our religion. We believe in God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. We go to church as much as we can, and we always ponder the sermons to help guide our actions and decisions. We also spend as much time as we can together as a family, because going to church and spending time with our family are the most important things to us. For our fun family time, we go camping in the summer. One campsite that I like is called Fort Wilderness. It’s a Christian religious camp, where every day we go to a small church service with students of our grade, and learn about God. After the service, the day is spent with family and friends. It truly brings us closer, and I think the religious services help too. And as we become closer as family and friends, it makes us stronger. And the strength grows and spreads throughout the entire campground.
What if, when we got home, we spread the strength to our neighbors? Then, it would just keep spreading from person to person, and grow to the whole city of Muskego (WI), then maybe Waukesha County, and maybe all over the state! As it keeps spreading, the love, and the religion could even get to the whole United States of America, and it would bind us all closer. And it all started just by spreading our religion and our peace to others.
What is my point to this? How does spreading the love and belief relate to keeping our nation strong? Well, the point is, in my opinion, our nation isn’t strong because of our military, or our government—it’s the religion and the people who believe in it. And if all the peace does spread around the nation, we won’t have to deal with conflict or war. Maybe other countries would join in with the peace too. With this, the world can be a better place.
Kat Whalen , 7th grade, Bay Lane Middle School, Muskego, WI
Freedom, Trust, Equality, and Belief
What makes a nation feel strong? Differing opinions suggest a good economy, a strong and strong military. What actually makes a nation strong, though? My personal beliefs are that freedom, trust, equality between persons, and something to believe in not only make a nation feel strong, but be strong.
Let’s start with freedom. Freedom is something every person deserves and should be awarded. History proves that those without freedom often rebel against those who are controlling them. Take even Libya today, for example. The Libyans rebelled against Gadhafi, because they didn’t get a say in what was happening in their country. They were willing to die for their freedom.
Though I’ve stressed that freedom is a good thing, too much freedom can backfire against a nation. Without boundaries, some individuals or groups might start doing the wrong things, the bad things. All in all, some laws and disciplines are required, to avoid theft, injury, and distrust among community members. Too much of anything isn’t good.
Trust creates a stronger nation. Improvements often require risk-taking, and with that, a safe environment is a necessity. Of course, trust does not come easily, trust has to be earned. People usually trust those who they’ve known for a long time and are close to. It is always a good thing to extend a little trust to everyone within the community.
Equality between persons is a key concept to enforce in a nation. Everyone is as important as the person next to them, and the person next to them shouldn’t believe otherwise. If people didn’t judge others, we would all like each other much more. In some organizations, groups, and clubs, people are needed for different reasons. Like a cake, the batter is needed more than the frosting if you want to make one, but both are equally important to the end product. Just because people hold different roles in the nation does not make them any less important, it makes the nation strong.
I think something that makes an individual stronger, which creates a stronger nation as a whole, is something to believe in. When someone has a hero or someone to look up to, it helps shape their character. When a group of people have something to believe in, they connect with one another. Everyone needs something to guide them through tough times. These shared beliefs among a community help strengthen the nation as a whole.
RUNNERS UP
Santos Vincent Chavez, 12th grade, H.M. King High School, Kingsville, TX
Higher Education
A strong nation consists of many different factors. It’s more than having a powerful military at your hand or even having a strong leader.
In my opinion, what really makes a strong nation is when its citizens seek a higher education. Education makes a nation strong because it not only helps raise leaders, but it also betters the lives of those for whom being independent from things like welfare means so much. Don’t get me wrong: if you need help and can’t stand on your own, you got to do what you need to do. But with a higher education, you are advancing yourself in the future by creating opportunities.
If you think about it, picture yourself spreading your wings and learning how to fly.
I know that it is hard to believe that something small like more citizens with higher education can make a big difference in a nation. But it does. For example, my brother is a hardworking man but if he had finished college, he might be working in a high paying job somewhere in a big town. But he isn’t. Don’t assume I’m targeting my brother. It’s quite the opposite. He has inspired me to push myself to complete my education.
See, education can make a nation soar to the sky like an eagle, but it also can bring a nation to its knees. Just look outside your window and see the buildings and roads that education has created, see your neighbor leaving his luxury house because of the wealth his education brought him. So if you still think that education doesn’t have a big impact on a nation, well think again. When I see ordinary individuals in everyday in life, the ones that stand out, “he must have gotten an outstanding education,” I think to myself.
Chris Rene [X-Factor star] says, “It takes education to change your reputation.” With a good education, you can change the outcome of your life in anyway shape or form you see fit. You can change a nation too.
Laura Nelson, 12th grade, Twinfield Union School, Plainfield, VT
The Separated States of America
“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” This quote by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America, comes from a speech about American patriotism. It points to what I believe: for a nation to be strong, it must live united.
It wasn’t until after the Civil War that the United States actually became united. Since then, we have based the strength of our country on control, power, strong military forces, and freedom. Those four strengths have built us, but what could make the United States even stronger? Does strength always mean control and power? Or can strength come from something else?
“Any concept of one person being superior to another can lead to racism,” the American film director Walter Lang said. Indeed, any situation between different groups of people where one believes it is superior to the other can do harm. The key to being strong is uniting. But there is no way we can unite, without first understanding. Despite the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, there are still prejudices, discrimination, and racism across America. Every day, people continue to be ridiculed because of sexual preference, race, ethnicity, and physical or mental disabilities.
I am utterly stunned at the things we, as people, have done over the centuries: for example, the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and the slavery that went on in our very own country. It is unbelievable to think that people could commit such atrocities. The Holocaust started with discrimination, blame, and prejudices against Jewish people. The moment we begin to disown people who are “different” from us, we separate as a whole and we become the Separated States of America.
In order to become a stronger and more powerful country, we need to pull together and understand and accept our every difference.
Samantha Ward, 10th grade, Heritage High School, Ringgold, GA
It Is the People Who Make A Nation
Without the people who make up our nation, would we even have a nation in the first place? A nation is so much more than just a land bordered off for a specific group of people, but rather a place where we come together as one for the good of the whole. The strength of our nation comes from the soul of the nation, which comes from the people. I mean this in every aspect, by the morals, by the determination, and by the hope of the people.
We are so blessed to be in a nation where we have freedom of religion, but that freedom is taken for granted too often in this day and time. No matter what religion a person comes from, we all have one thing in common, which is morals. In order for our nation to be strong, the people need to have a strong base of morals in which they live their lives by. Without that code of morals, the nation would be in shambles because everyone would live in a way that only benefitted them and possibly hurt others.
Morals are not all that a strong nation needs. This country was built not by people being lazy and just getting by, but by those who were determined to make a better life for themselves and the generations to come. A quote from Thomas Jefferson says a lot about this: “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” In order to keep our nation strong, we must be a group of citizens who are willing to work for not just ourselves but for our nation, too.
Another aspect that affects our lives is hope. Without hope, there is no motivation to work hard, live a good life, or live at all, for that matter. Once a person looses hope in life, then their life is basically over unless they can regain that hope. When the tough times come around, it will be the strong people who keep hope in their hearts that a better time is coming soon. A strong nation has citizens who still have hope in the nation, because once they loose hope then they will not want to remain as a whole.
Without a doubt, it is the people who make up a nation. It isn’t the government, economy, environment, situation, or anything else. This is especially true in our nation, where the people have a say in how the country is run. If the people are weak, without rightful determination and without hope, then the nation is the same. If the people are strong, rightfully determined, and hopeful, then the nation is very strong.
