Showing posts with label Saylor Perkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saylor Perkins. Show all posts

Sunday, September 10, 2017

United We Stand: Essay Winner for Freedom Fest 2017

DIVIDED WE FALL, UNITED WE STAND
By Saylor Cielo Perkins
7th grade
August 31, 2017
It is critical to be united, but is is also just as vital to be united for the right cause. If we aren’t all united, it can cause a little scuffle, and even little scuffles can turn into a wars. We need to stay united and stand strong for our beliefs.
Pauline Hanson said, “ To survive in peace and harmony, united and strong, we must have one people, one nation, and one flag.” I really like this quote because it is true. In order to fulfill the dreams of the Founding Fathers of this great land, we need to have solidarity as one people, “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all…” and all that our magnificent American flag stands for.


Another quote from Benjamin Carson says, “Our strength as a nation comes in our unity. We are the United States of America, not the divided states. And those who want to divide us are trying to divide us, and we shouldn’t let them do it.” This is also very true. We cannot standby and let the world pick us apart, piece by piece. We are San Juan County. There is more unity in our communities than I can even express. We have set the example for the rest of the state of Utah But there are also those who are trying to divide us. AND WE WILL NOT LET THEM! We will stand firm as a community, as a county, as a state, and as One Nation. 
One of my teachers told us on the very first day of school, that it does not matter what religion, culture, or color, or what beliefs we have. We are all a part of the human race and we need to stand united because we are at a time in the world where there are people who will try to convince you that being different is wrong; and that is not true.
Did you know that we are all 99% the same? You can take two completely different people and their DNA would be 1% different. That 1% is the only thing that gives each of us different personalities and beliefs. 

We can agree to disagree in matters where we have strong opposing opinions but we must do so with civility, as one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, often taught.
Imagine the world without unity. It is, in reality, the world we live in. The hate, discord, and anger seems to grow every hour of every day. Can you see it? Do you feel it? Now imagine every single person in the world, united, not necessarily in every belief and opinion, but united in the knowledge that we are all God’s children and we all bleed and cry and laugh and love.
That is the hope that I have. Psalms 133:1 says, “ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”

past summer I had one of the most amazing, uplifting, faith-building, and every good feeling in the world type of experience. Who would have thought that a group of about 200 teenage girls, could spend three days, getting very little sleep, too much sugar, and smelling like campfire and sweat, would not only refrain from killing each other, but come together strong and united. Our differences didn’t seem to matter as we realized that we are each individuals with our own thoughts and feelings, and that no two people are the same. Knowing that we could choose between love and hate, we decided to come together and face the hard times, and enjoy the good as we became one.

I would like to leave you with one last quote, “ If we don’t look past our differences, we will never see the light and strength that comes from unity.” This was a quote I wrote myself and I truly believe that we will never be united if we can’t accept each other as we are. But with hope and dignity, United We Stand.