Kate Cavanaugh, a senior at Holy Names Academy, is our Voice of Democracy winner. Kate read her essay during the December business meeting and received a standing ovation. Kate also placed first at District 2. Here’s her essay in full:
Kate Cavanaugh
Voice of Democracy essay (2018)
Prompt: Why My Vote Matters
My friend’s English teacher once told the class that the founding fathers were terrorists. He said they were ISIS, they were the Taliban. We were appalled and met with him to talk about it. He said it was an analogy. We thought it was a questionable analogy at best, and a terrible accusation at worst.
This accusation tears at the very foundation of our nation, and sadly, this is where some people are at in our country right now. Rather than tearing at our roots though, we as a country need to be grateful for the accomplishments of the founding fathers; for the declaration, which established our country and its values; for the constitution which illustrates our rights; for amendments that give us the tools to defend these rights, and even for the freedom to participate in our democracy through voting.
These rights are a wonderful thing, but it’s often easier to focus on the rights and forget that we have duties that come with these rights. Voting is one of these duties; it’s part of being a responsible citizen. Furthermore, to ignore the rights that men and women have fought and died for is not only lukewarm and mediocre, but also an insult to their memory. We must not let their sacrifice be wasted on us.
I have a close friend who refuses to vote; she thinks it won’t make a difference. While it might not make everything just the way she might want it to be, it does make a difference. It may be slow and subtle changes over time, but that is preferable to the volatility of an absolute ruler who can change anything to exactly what he wants in an instant.
The perspective that voting does nothing is one of despair, but America is not a country of despair. I once heard it described in this way: America is comedy, not a tragedy. A tragedy ends in death and despondency. Meanwhile, a comedy has hope; every failure is just a setback, and if you persevere, it has a happy ending.
The idea that the founding fathers were terrorists is also a form of despair: how could a country that was founded by terrorists ever be just or free? Except, the founding fathers were far different than terrorists. Rather than destroying, they created something new. It wasn’t perfect, but they built a country founded on the idea that all men are created equal; that government is a contract between itself and the people; that intrinsically, each and every person has inherent freedoms that must be protected.
Voting is about freedom. Which leads to the question, what is freedom? The common idea of freedom is to do whatever you want. However, there are limits on freedom: laws against assault, murder, et cetera. These restrictions exist to protect other freedoms, so while we have restrictions and limits on our freedom, when the laws are created and enforced in the right way, it makes us more free, not less. Pope John Paul II famously said, “freedom consists not in doing whatever we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” We have the freedom to vote or not to vote. We must do what we ought, however; we must respect and honor those who have sacrificed far more than we ever will so that we may have this freedom. We ought to be true to our duty as citizens. We ought not to give into despair, but rather to hope.