2022 VOD Winner Essay

2021-22 Voice of Democracy Essay

1st Place Winner | Felicity J. Roberts

12th Grade • Homeschooled, Southlake, Texas Post Sponsor: 10454-Grapevine • District Sponsor: 21

“America: Where Do We Go From Here?”

BORN INTO THE BONDS OF SLAVERY, forced to perform manual labor as a small child, and yet determined not to let his circumstances seal his fate, Booker T. Washington overcame the seemingly insurmountable obstacles of his life. From an early age, he had a zest for learning, fostered by his mother who acquired books for his education. Even at nine years old, he labored in a factory so he had to rise at 4 to study. When he was 16, his thirst for education led him to walk 500 miles to the Hampton Normal Agricultural Institute to pursue higher education. He was not only a student, but he also worked as a janitor. This education and his hard work equipped him for a career in which he founded the Tuskegee Institute, dined with presidents, and wrote five books. By overcoming the obstacles in his early life, bettering himself, and serving others, Booker T. Washington exemplifies the American ideal of self-determination. His remarkable life serves as an example to us in determining “America, where do we go from here?”

To start, where is “here?” Throughout our history, Americans have been focused on achievement for both themselves and their country. The “American Dream” is the concept that any person can work hard and better their situation. In other countries, a sense of identity is found in ethnicity, but in America, our identity is centered around the pursuit of happiness. In more recent times, Americans have strayed from their focus on that pursuit and have begun to view themselves as victims, whose happiness cannot be pursued but is instead contingent on others. A study conducted by American researcher Miles Armaly showed that “perceiving oneself as a victim is ubiquitous” even among regular Americans. Claiming victim status is encouraged by politicians, the media, and other social institutions. This development is alarming. While there are people who truly suffer from circumstances out of their control, a mentality of victimhood is detrimental to one’s self and one’s community.

Focusing on one’s real or perceived victimhood causes Americans to recoil from the possibilities they could achieve and instead to blame others for why they may not achieve them. They stop searching for opportunities to grow and rather blame their victimhood as the reason they stagnate. They begin to move away from the distinct American ideal of self-determination and instead find their identity in how they believe they have been victimized. Victimhood builds on itself. When someone dwells on how they have been wronged, that becomes their focus. They see grievances even before anything happens. They look for people to blame to avoid responsibility. They drink from a poison fountain which feeds a desire for bitterness and revenge instead of appreciation and improvement.

Victimhood mentality is holding America back because its focus is inward instead of outward. Having a victim mentality makes people think only of themselves and not others. It makes them expect rescue instead of looking for ways to serve. No self-governing nation can flourish in that environment.

So how does America move forward? We must return to selfdetermination. Self-dete1mination seizes opportunities. It is the idea that you are in control of your future. The actions you perform, the choices you make, and the work you do determine the outcome of your life. Psychologists call this having an internal locus of control. When Americans have this self-determined attitude, they perforn1 better in school and work, are more independent, and are less likely to be depressed.

Being self-determined also means no longer ruminating on past wrongs, but instead moving forward. You dare to dream the American Dream. You become brave and self-sacrificing. You achieve desires for yourself and your fan1ily, but your endeavors also extend to your community. In the words of President Kennedy, you “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

You see, it wasn’t a victim mentality that motivated patriots to fight the British for independence. Or American GI’s to storm the beaches of Normandy and free Europe from the tyranny of the Axis powers. Or first responders to nm into the Twin Towers on 9/11 to rescue those inside. It was the character trait of self-determination that motivated these men and women to be brave, to look beyond themselves and their circumstances, and toward others.

America, where do we go from here? We go forward with the character of self-determination and not victimhood. It helped Booker T. Washington overcome his early life of slavery to contribute so much to this country because, as he said, “Character, not circumstances, makes the man.”