What do young Americans think is the most essential American value? Is it the ability to compromise? To take action against injustice? Initiative? Activism? Moral courage? Public service?

The Bill of Rights Institute, a nonprofit educational organization, held an essay contest in 2008 on "Being an American." Following is one of the winning essays:

Andrew Bobo

Compassionate Activism: An American Legacy
By Andrew Bobo, Grade 12
Arlington, Texas
School: Grace Preparatory Academy

“I have a dream.” I run my shoe over these words inscribed on the granite step of the Lincoln Memorial and look out over Washington DC. Groups of students traverse up and down the steps, laughing and talking as the sun sets on a warm summer’s day. In the distance, stone walls and statues stand as monuments to the brave departed. I can’t help but feel the same sense of duty as those who have gone before me. Soldiers and politicians, visionaries and activists: each respond to history’s most difficult circumstances with bold, selfless action. Since our country’s founding, this spirit of personal responsibility has defined what it is to be an American.

Public service is America’s most vital ideal because such great power has been vested in the people. The Bill of Rights states, in explicit terms, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Therefore, it is the people’s responsibility - not the government’s - to create positive change in their local communities, in their country, and in the world. This outlook on government is unique to America. Here exists no supreme leader or aristocratic class. Instead, ordinary people are bound by patriotic duty to chart the course of their country as it moves into the future.

In the cast of characters that contributed to the forging of America’s identity, none have proven to be more influential than George Washington. He set the standard in selfless service. His presence was dynamic as he led the Continental army, assisted in writing the Constitution, and put flesh and blood on the concept of the American President. As our young nation’s Commander-in-Chief, Washington humbly refused a salary. His altruism is evident in his own words, “I have no other view than to promote the public good, and am unambitious of honors not founded in the approbation of my country.”

Following in the footsteps of our Founding Fathers, it is imperative that we fulfill our patriotic duty by taking action in the world around us. It is not enough to spend time talking and planning; we must dare to move into an uncertain future. For instance, last spring I helped transform our school’s annual talent show into the “Talent Show for Uganda.” The event raised awareness of the continued recruitment of child soldiers by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda while raising over one thousand dollars for the non-profit organization Invisible Children. It takes initiative and imagination like this to push back societal injustice, and I feel privileged to be part of the American legacy of compassionate activism.

Of the civic values that define America, action-based responsibility to public service stands prominent. This calling is not limited to any group or demographic of people, but is one that reaches into the heart of every American. Each of us has been given a unique passion. Therefore, let the teachers teach, let the artists paint, let the scientists discover. And in following these pursuits, may the American people lay down their lives in service for each other, so that as this cynical world grows dim, the flame of liberty that has been ignited in this nation will never be extinguished.

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