"The only title in our democracy superior to that of president is citizen", said Supreme court justice Brandeis. Our democracy adapts to the needs of our citizens. The reason the United States is the world's greatest country is exactly that: its people. Our nation's climbing, ladies and gentlemen, inexorably towards an enlightened peak; one wherein not only the United States perpetuates the American ideal of individualism and liberty, but also across the globe. As we near the summit of our efforts, the air gets thinner, the trek tougher, and the conditions more hazardous. Yet, if we can simply nurture that which makes America truly great: its citizens, its individuals, and its role as an international entity, we can reach that much-vaunted peak. .
If they are able and willing, any citizen can set about engendering real change. Political organizations can serve as catalysts for one's beliefs; our generation comes from a proud line of activists: from the civil rights movement to the Vietnam draft protests, when the status quo tastes wrong to us, we mobilize. While in our society burning draft cards might smack of controversy, such an act might warrant death in other nations. One of the most defining rights of citizens is the right to freedom of speech. This right is constantly being argued and adapted by the courts, shuffling right and left as the times change, such as in Schenck V. United States, which set a clear precedent for what kind of speech is illegal. It is this participation that keeps the forces of partisanship and stubborn tradition at bay: it is this that keeps our constitutional democracy a well-oiled machine.
The United States is a nation that prides itself on individualism. Without truly great characters, where would the United States be? Martin Luther King Jr. comes to mind. Faced with systemic oppression and violent retaliation, Martin Luther King Jr.
