Slinger High School Junior places 2nd in American Legion 2nd District Oratorical Competition

Katherine “Kate” Scroggins, a Slinger High School Junior, represented Allenton Legion Fohl-Martin Post 483 in the annual Oratorical Competition sponsored by the Department of Wisconsin American Legion.

In early January, Scroggins won the Second District Oratorical and Saturday, February 12 she traveled to Ripon College to compete at Regional / State Finals.

Scroggins was accompanied by her father, Shannon Scroggins, U.S. Army, Infantry, SFC, Retired and Mark Schellinger of Allenton Fohl-Martin Post 483 Youth Coordinator.

Mark Scroggins said he is very proud of the Kate’s presentation and how she prepared for this competition.

Kate placed second place in the state and spoke on subjects focused on an aspect of the U.S. Constitution, with some emphasis on the duties and obligations of citizens to our government.

Her memorized speech had to be approximately 9 minutes long. This was followed by three- to five-minute speech on an assigned topic given to her following her main presentation.

Second Vice Commander Ron Naab of the Allenton American Legion Post said, “Our post is extremely proud of put a lot of effort into her first year of competing and moving to the Runner-up position.”

Below is a copy of Scroggin’s award-winning speech.

We the people.  Words important enough to be the first written on the Constitution. They ignite the idea of self-government and include not just the people on the top, but the millions of others that live, work, and provide for their families daily. We the people. It is we who decide on our leaders, it is we who have the right to participate in our government; one made by we, the people. However, when those words first were written, “We the people” didn’t mean “All the people”. Back then, in most aspects of the government, “We the people” meant an elite group; an aristocracy. It neglected large portions of society, including anyone without property, Women, and people of color. One basic right these groups did not have was the right to vote. However, since those words first forged the American Constitution, we have extended this crucial right, suffrage, because we believe that not only is it a right, but it is a civic duty, as a citizen of the United States, to vote on and take part of the government by “the people” for “the people”. To be a true democratic nation, voting should be the most protected right in our country.

To fully appreciate the importance of voting, it is necessary to understand how we established and protected it in the past.  Throughout our past 200 years, we’ve proposed, written, adopted by a ⅔ majority, ratified and established 27 Amendments to our original Constitution. Four of them have focused solely on providing suffrage to groups that were historically cast aside. After we fought a bloody civil war, We the People recognized that in order to preserve liberty and freedom for all people, we had to protect Africans Americans’ right to vote. Thousands of African Americans fought with the union to preserve our government. As written by Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Major Christian Fleetwood of the 4th U.S.C.T. “A double purpose induced me and most others to enlist, to assist in abolishing slavery and to save the country from ruin,” and to anybody of any race, they were Americans, and it was within their civic duty to help elect and make decisions alongside rest of America.

As were the people who fought alongside other Americans back in the 1860’s, it was “the people” who took to the streets when they were denied the same right as a man to participate in their government. As quoted by Susan B. Anthony “It was we, the people, not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union…Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.” The 19th amendment made it so the other half of America can elect their leaders and take part in decisions. It allowed the problems that have plagued women for centuries before, to now be heard. Presently, according to Pew Research Center, “63% of women who were eligible to vote said they cast ballots in the presidential election, compared with 59% of men.”

During the Vietnam War, “the people” were being drafted and sent off to fight without representation in their government. 18-20 year olds during this time weren’t yet considered adults and couldn’t participate in the government that was making their decisions for them. The slogan “old enough to fight, old enough to vote” became the push to establish the 26th amendment, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. According to the Smithsonian, “Ten million new voters were now enfranchised”. It allowed the youth to be more engaged in politics and have their voice heard as they are just entering the world of adulthood. According to researchers at Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), “young voters aged 18-29 preferred the Democratic ticket by a 25-point margin” and “were “instrumental” in sending Joe Biden to the White House”. In Senator Jennings Randolph’s words “I believe that our young people possess a great social conscience, are perplexed by the injustices which exist in the world and are anxious to rectify these ills.” 

These groups are “We the People”. These are Americans. Citizens to whom their right to vote is as sacred and inviolable as anyone else’s.  If we take this right of voting for our leaders away, we lose a crucial connection between us, and our government and it’ll not be a government of the people anymore. According to AACTorg  “Education, healthcare, immigration, infrastructure, the economy, our veterans, etc. are all affected by our vote.” 

Today, we are facing a new problem of exclusion. “We the people” also includes those who are bound to their beds in hospitals and fighting overseas for our country. It includes those who are unable to drive or those who are too busy working hard to stop what they are doing on election day and vote. It includes those in nursing homes and those in the middle of rural areas. In 2020, according to the census, voting was up from 61.4 percent of Americans in 2016 to 66.8. Although this was a record turnout, we are still missing ⅓ of the nation. Millions of people are not exercising their right of self-representation. Whether it’s because they are less politically engaged, they don’t like the choices, they believe that their vote doesn’t matter, or they are physically limited, the fact is that “Increasing the number of people that vote in each election means better representation, more funding to our communities, and a better quality of life” (acct.org). To be more accessible, absentee voting and Military voting absentee have already been a solution for some time. It is critical that the men and women who protect our freedom have the opportunity to participate in it. 

How much more can we do to improve the voting experience?  Parts of our government are currently exploring the use of a 3-factor identification system for virtual access to government. If we can file and pay taxes online, we should be able to vote online.  The 3-factor identification system requires the capture of an authentic government form of ID such as a driver’s license or passport, the use of a camera for facial recognition, and another check, such as a texted code. Maybe one day, we will use this to cast our vote.

It is our duty as “We the People” to hold our elected officials to their promises by voting and participating in our government.  It is also our duty to ensure that all who make up “the people” have access to and are included in this process.  After all, it is our responsibility as “We the People” to protect and include the people who make America who she is.