AREA YOUTH WRITES ESSAY WINNER; EARNS OPTIMIST SCHOLARSHIP

MARBLE HILL -- Janelle Johns of Marble Hill has won second prize in the 1991 Optimist International Essay contest for high-school students.

The contest annually draws more than 20,000 entries from across the United States and Canada. Students wrote a 400 to 500 word essay about "Freedom: A Right or a Privilege?"

The second-place award to Johns carries a $3,000 college scholarship from the Optimist International Foundation.

A senior at Woodland High School, Johns is the daughter of Beverly Johns of Marble Hill.

To reach the international finals, Johns' essay won the contest sponsored by the Optimist Club of Marble and then won the East Missouri District contest. The international finals involved the winners of 52 district contests across Canada and the United States.

Essays are judges by a panel of judges on the basis of content, organization, language and grammar.

Following is her winning essay:

Freedom is our common dream. Though the people of the world are divided by different languages, different customs, and different religions, all are united by this universal goal freedom. From Germany to Latin America, from the Soviet Union to Zaire, steps toward freedom are being taken. Every part of the world is lifting up a cry in one breath, with one spirit. That cry is "Give us our freedom." These words are being heard, and will continue to be heard until every nation allows its citizens the inalienable right of freedom.

In past decades, millions of people have felt the blanket of oppression. They have been smothered by totalitarian governments and have been denied their rights by dictators. They have never been allowed to taste of freedom, but they know it has been taken away. For freedom is not a privilege granted to a chosen few, but a right that everyone is entitled to hold.

Rulers in certain countries have long considered freedom a privilege that is theirs to grant to an elect group, those of the right social class, the right bloodline, and those professing the accepted ideas. But those who know that freedom is a basic right have spread their inspiration to others. When the principles of equality are introduced, people begin to catch a glimmer of freedom's light. Once the flames of liberty are seen, they cannot be extinguished. The ideas grow in the hearts of the people and cannot go unnoticed by the existing government.

The quest for freedom is founded on the basic knowledge that freedom is not a privilege but a right. Freedom should not be just a dream. It should be evident in every person's life, regardless of race or gender. Freedom of speech should not be granted only to those who will voice opinions complying with those of the government. Freedom of religion should not be granted only to those worshipping in the states' churches. Placing restrictions on freedom is making a mockery of the concept of freedom itself.

The surge for freedom, equality, and democracy is the most powerful movement of our times. The wall of oppression is crumbling, not only in Berlin, but also in Warsaw and Moscow. Many nations, for the first time in recent history, are allowing their citizens the freedom to vote, the freedom of the press, and the freedom of religion. The world rejoices as it watches these changes. However, these celebrations are bittersweet, for we are cheering for the return of something that never should have been taken away.