Americans have duty to speak out against government wrongs

EDITOR’S NOTE: This essay by De Pere High School junior Meghan Monahan earned honorable mention and $250 among 31,000 entries in the “Being An American” contest sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute, a nonprofit educational organization based near Washington, D.C. Monahan’s sponsoring teacher, Kelli Schneider, received a matching cash prize. To participate, students were asked to share their thoughts on American citizenship by answering the following question: "What civic value do you believe is most essential to being an American?"

Guest column: Americans have duty to speak out against government wrongs
Green Bay Gazette By Meghan Monahan • Guest Commentary • April 26, 2009

American. Just this one word describes a citizen of the United States, but what this word alone doesn't show is the complexity of America, the different cultures and races that all reside in this giant melting pot.

There are many things that unite us, but there is one unique virtue that is the most American of all and that has played a part in our nation's history since our conception: disobedience.

It may seem odd that a defining element of any country is the frequent practice of defying the government by its citizens. But in America, its people have taken that idea of standing up to the status quo and for what they as individuals think is right and used it to better their nation.

Disobedience against an establishment that is wrong has been a theme in American history since the beginning. Perhaps the greatest example of rebellion is a document, without which we may never have become our own nation — the Declaration of Independence authored by Thomas Jefferson.

In the world's "greatest editorial," Jefferson frequently goes back to the idea that a country has the right to rebel against a regime that refuses them freedom. One of the most famous quotes from the declaration was the treasonous idea "That whenever any form of government becomes destructive… It is the right of the people to alter or abolish it."

Jefferson, himself, was the prime example of a citizen rebelling against his country. But right after he wrote these words instructing people to throw off an oppressive regime, he also had a cautionary warning: "Government long established should not be thrown ... for light reason … But when a long train of abuses."

Jefferson did not want anarchy and believed only when America was truly unjust should a citizen threaten upheaval. In fact, as a politician, and as later a president, he believed in total loyalty to his country.

But it seems that Jefferson's first statement of rebelling against an unjust system has become so engrained into the American psyche that that is how we've come to describe an American hero: someone who stands against the status quo to better the lives of others.

There have been many characters in history who have fought for freedom and tried to "abolish" an unjust system, but I feel I should mention one that stands out in particular for me, Susan B. Anthony. She and the suffragettes yelled for the right to vote, and didn't stop until they had achieved their goal.

Even though Anthony is now considered a great American role model, during the more than 45 years that she campaigned for the right for women to vote, she was mocked for her views. But even though her own government was against her, she soldiered on and didn't care about the societal norms of the day. All she wanted was her voice and the voices of millions of other women heard.

Unfortunately, she would not live to see the passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote in 1920. Although she died 14 years earlier, she did make it happen, and that is the definition of a true American — someone who feels so strongly their country is wrong that they are willing to disobey their government to do what they think is right.

Loyalty and rebellion were both themes of the Declaration of Independence, and these two seemingly contradictions are evident in modern times. After Sept. 11, 2001, the nation came together in unwavering support of their president and country, demonstrating America's deep patriotism. But soon the nation was torn over an unpopular war.

Those who opposed the war and protested were called "unpatriotic." But really they weren't. Anyone who stands up to what they think is wrong in their country is simply following the example set by our forefathers — that to love one's country is to "alter" it, to make sure it always lives up to the ideals it was founded on. I, like my fellow Americans, have a civic obligation to defy my government if I believe they are doing wrong.

I can personally do what all Americans should do and pay attention to the state of the world and always speak up when the government is wrong, yet always take to heart the sacrifices my forbearers made so I could be free, and thus it is my duty to fight as hard as I can to make sure my descendants have all the rights promised in Mr. Jefferson's document.