Kathryn Doom was selected as the winner of the South Dakota VFW Voice of Democracy contest. Winners of the Voice of Democracy, Patriot’s Pen and Teacher of the Year awards were announced at the Winter Legislative Conference, which was held in Ft. Pierre, on January 30.

Kathryn’s audio essay was one of three from the Wagner Community School that advanced to District competition. Her essay was selected as the District 7 winner and advanced to the state to be judged along with the other 4 district winners. Her essay was selected as the best of the best and will now compete at the national level where she will receive a scholarship ranging from $1,000 to $30,000.

This was not a completely new experience for Kathryn. In 2017 she entered the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen Contest, which requires 6-8 grade students to write a patriotic essay. Kathryn’s essay was selected as the state winner and placed 18th in the national contest. This is also the third year in a row that students from the Wagner Community School have won the state Voice of Democracy contest. Mackenzie Roberts and Michelle Soukup were winners the past two years. Credit needs to be given to both the students and the teachers who are instrumental in educating the children in our school district. Cassity Kerner, Nadia Mudder and Renee VanDerWerff have been responsible for the success the Wagner students have achieved in writing their essays for the Voice of Democracy contest.

The Voice of Democracy contest is open to students in grades 9-12. Students compete by writing and recording a 3-5 minute audio essay on an annual patriotic theme. This year’s theme was, America: Where do we go from here? The following is Kathryn’s essay:

On September 11th, 2001, America launched into a new period in her history: the war on terror. Now, the world watches as America withdraws its forces from Afghanistan, bringing an end to this era. Although many will always remember the 9/11 attacks and turmoil that followed, my generation, the future of America, will not. Today, we hold a blank slate, an opportunity to write a new outline for the future of America.

What will be our new thesis? “Every dream starts with a dreamer,” Harriett Tubman once said, and America has certainly never run out of dreamers. 245 years ago, our founding fathers dreamt of a government of the people, by the people, for the people. 158 years ago, Abraham Lincoln, along with countless others, dreamt of freedom for all, regardless of race. 58 years ago, Martin Luther King dreamt that “every valley be exalted, every hill and mountain be made low.” And every day, our military forces and veterans, put their lives at risk for the dream of a safer America. So who are our dreamers today? The students writing on this very prompt. The 6-year-old who asked you what “democracy” meant this morning.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once took up his well-worn pen and wrote “America is another name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine providence on behalf of the human race.” From its conception, America has acted as a precedent for the world. From securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity to touching the moon, our influence has undoubtedly inspired countless others. Because of this position of power among the countries of the world, we must ensure that our image is one to be highly respected.

Hundreds of years ago, William of Ockham introduced the theory of Occam’s Razor. Essentially, when faced with a problem, the most frequent answer is that which is simplest: going back to the basics. This is what I propose for America: going back to the basics. What has been the dream for our country since its beginning? The pursuit of liberty and justice for all. This fundamental necessity transcends time.

Mountains will always exist to ascend, new ideas will always exist to be shared. This was what our forefathers envisioned for the country, and they wrote it into our constitution. But could they ever have foreseen Ruth Bader Ginsburg standing before the Supreme Court, arguing for the rights of women? Even though we have reached further than the horizon of our ancestors’ dreams, we can not give into stagnation. We can see over the hill, to an even brighter horizon.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are not what America gives us but what we give to America. The past few years have been pervaded with political divides. However, the COVID pandemic has taught us the importance of protecting our communities and serving others. Now, perhaps more than ever, the call to unity rings across the nation. We must decide whether we will become the “indivisible” nation we claim to be and strive for progress and growth together or use our split opinions as an excuse for inaction. Can we ignore these invisible political boundaries to acknowledge what brings us together? Each American is united by the dream of democracy and love for their countrymen. Continuing to “cancel” those of differing opinions leads only to the detriment of the nation. We are the American mosaic, not a melting pot, as Jimmy Carter once declared, and each and every opinion adds value to our identity.

What will we choose: growth or stagnation? What will be the first action carved into this blank slate? We are the dreamers of America. The responsibility of upholding the American paragon is ours. We must scale the mountain before us to allow future generations to see the brilliance of the next horizon. We must do this hand-in-hand, letting the world know America will not be divided.