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Local winners have been announced in the 2020 VFW Voice of Democracy Contest sponsored by Westby Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8021. The theme of this years competition was Is this the country our Founding Fathers envisioned? The contest was open to all students in grades 9 through 12 including home-schooled students.

This is a national contest, where the national winner receives a $30,000 college scholarship. There is a total of $153,000 in college scholarships awarded annually to state and national winners. Over 190 Westby High School students entered the contest.

Eighth place was won by Jaylin Holte, a 12th-grader and daughter of Kathy Pieper and Justin Holte of Westby. Jaylin won $15.

Is this the country our Founding Fathers envisioned?

Is the country the Founders envisioned? The answer to that question is very divided, but ultimately, no, it isnt what they envisioned. The country has changed so much over time, and even though almost everything is different, the way people are treated and how America is run could use improvement. The Founding Fathers had a much different vision of America than it is today because our country isnt equal, we involve ourselves into other countries problems when we dont need to, and the wealthy control the government today.

The Founding Fathers wanted America to be a country of freedom and a place where people were treated equally, but at that time America was anything but that. We had slavery and women were treated as inferiors. Some may argue that over the last few centuries we have created a country they envisioned because we abolished slavery and we gave women equal rights, but at the same time we arent equal. Black Americans are more likely than white Americans to be arrested. Once arrested, they are more likely to be convicted, and once convicted, they are more likely to experience lengthy prison sentences, note the activists at Dosomething.org. We say that everyone is treated equally, but we still have police brutality and we still have people who live in poverty who dont receive the same opportunities as those who live in wealthy cities. In 2018, 40 million Americans were dependent on food stamps. The intended American Dream is out of reach for so many today. The number of US citizens suffering would horrify the Founding Fathers.

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Voice of Democracy: Is this the country our Founding Fathers envisioned? by Jaylin Holte - The Westby Times