“REMAKING AMERICA”  WELLSTONE ESSAY CONTEST

In his 1993 book, Lincoln at Gettysburg, Gary Wills makes the case that the 272 words the
President spoke there “remade America.” Words matter, and now is a time when America
needs a good deal of remaking.
The late Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife Sheila committed their lives to the wider
realization of the promise of America. In honor and in memory of the Wellstones, and in
anticipation of the Fourth Annual Paul and Sheila Wellstone Dinner, Senate District 15 DFL
asked for original essays on the topic of “Remaking America.”
Essays were to be no fewer than 260 and no more than 280 words.

There were three age categories:
(A) 18 and younger
(B) 19 to 39
(C) 40 and older

Judges were
• Deborah Bendix, Director of Theatre and Language Arts, St. Cloud Apollo High School,
and formerly Coach of Competitive Speaking and Debate
• Steve Kelley, Director and Senior Fellow, Center for Science, Technology and Public
Policy at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota,
and former Minnesota State Senator
• Yolanda Lehman, ordained Elder in the AME Zion Church, Delegate to the 2008
Democratic National Convention, 2003 Recipient of St. Cloud Mayor’s High‐Five
Community Award, currently teaching in the Community Studies Department at St.
Cloud State University

Essays were submitted to the judges by age category but without names attached. The judges
awarded two prizes in each of the three categories. We are pleased to publish the six winning
essays here. The three first‐prize essays were read aloud during the program at the dinner.

Winners

Category A (ages 18 and younger)

First Prize
The Future of Education in America
Michael Schreifels, Saint Cloud, Minnesota

The world is changing. And the current state of America’s education system has proved to be
ineffective for preparing the next generation of leaders for what is to come.
It begins at the lowest levels of our education system. Individuals from underprivileged homes start
out lacking the knowledge necessary to succeed.
Early in a child’s education, they become acquainted with standardized testing—an initiative that
bullies schools into shrinking their programs in the arts, music, and social studies—programs which
provide our students with a necessary well‐rounded education.
Their teachers are paid solely based on two factors—their education and the length of time they
have been teaching. Their actual success at pushing, inspiring, and exciting their students has been
all but ignored.
Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change
the world.” Unfortunately, today America is treating education as an expense, rather than an
investment in our future.
The solution is to give everyone a chance to excel. Underperforming schools should not have their
federal funding cut, but rather be provided with the resources necessary to fix themselves.
Programs need to ensure that students from impoverished backgrounds are given an equal
opportunity for success. A metric must be devised to rate the true effectiveness of teachers, and
their salaries need to be based on that. The education system as a whole needs to begin to
recognize the importance of a well‐rounded education and to encourage, rather than discourage,
this worthwhile endeavor.
Our education system is failing. The success of education reform will ultimately determine the
success of America.

Category B (ages 19‐39)

First Prize
Timothy J. Knight, Spring Lake Park, Minnesota

My Fellow Americans,
We stand at a pivotal juncture with the unique opportunity to change the course of American
history. In recent years, our country has been driven astray from the political practices that
previously provided strength, not only militarily, but economically and morally as well. Ruinous
overspending, massive international debts, and the denial of certain guaranteed liberties to
American citizens are all indicators that we have begun to abandon the principles laid out in the
Constitution.
Americans have been faced with similar situations in history; and each time, the integrity of our
nation has been strengthened. There stands no doubt that America can return to prominence, but
not without a new kind of sacrifice. Roosevelt asked Americans to think first of those fighting
abroad before buying food for themselves. Kennedy asked Americans not what the country should
do for them, but what they could do for their country.
Today, Americans should ask the government to represent the same sacrifices we, the people, have
made so willingly in the past. No longer should the brunt of sacrifice hit hardest the middle and
lower classes. No longer should irresponsible spending further indebt us to our fiercest
competitors. No longer should a nation of wealth be equated with a nation of greed. And no
longer should the American people provide their acquiescence to such principles.
Elected officials who represent you, the American people, can and should be willing to set aside
personal fortunes and political gain in favor of expanding the values of our nation. Though the path
towards change has never been the easiest upon which to travel, it is the one that provides the
most rewards by being taken.

Category C (ages 40 and older)

First Prize
Remaking America
Joan Jarvis Ellison, Pelican Rapids, Minnesota

In a small town in west central Minnesota, a group of people are remaking America. They
aren’t part of a political organization, or members of a religious group. They don’t work for a
big corporation or any form of government. They’re ordinary people, volunteers, who recognize
a need and realize that they can help.
Jim, an old dairy farmer transports mattresses to refugees who have no beds. Semsa teaches
American friends how to make Bosnian crocheted lace. Sang, a seventy‐four year old
Vietnamese man cuts his neighbor’s lawn. Marguerite mentors Halima in English so she can
pass her citizenship test. Israel, a Hispanic, teaches Americans how to use a piñata at a
community celebration. Don, a small business owner, helps a refugee thaw the water pipes
under his mobile home. Yusuf, a young Somali refugee, works in a community resource center,
helping people fill out government forms. Jenelle, a medical student, tutors high school
students in math and science.
These are all just ordinary people, helping their neighbors. But the meaning of their actions is
extraordinary. Through their work, these people defy the conservative view that all immigrants
are enemies and refute the religious zealots who define Muslim as synonymous with terrorist.
They shame the corporations that teach new immigrants how to work in America, but not how
to live in America. These volunteers are just ordinary folk, remaking America into a place of
equal opportunity, regardless of race, religion, sex or ability, an America created of the people,
for all the people, and led by the people to a place even better than that dreamed of by the
Founding Fathers.

Category A (ages 18 and younger)

Second Prize
On Remaking America
Roberto Borgert, Saint Cloud, Minnesota

Manifest Destiny spurred the creation of one of the greatest nations ever to exist. Big stick
diplomacy allowed for that nation to enjoy unfettered growth, Expansion, and influence
throughout the world. Since its creation, America has always been something special,
something unique. Her constitution recognizes the inherent rights of all peoples and she has
always sought to spread those values to the rest of the world. She stands for Democracy,
equality, and the belief that one creates his/her own destiny.
Not all countries hold these same values, and use different methods of governing than
democracy. Those governments are now potential rivals in the race to attain the status of world
superpower. It is important that the United States must accept the fact that those governments
exist precisely because they function using their own methods which are not based in the
American ideal.
America can no longer wield its big stick and pressure other nations to do as we command. We
must come together as a nation to re‐evaluate our place in the world and how the American
Dream will exist in this modern era. We must act on our founding principles of liberty and
equality and create a global atmosphere where every country can feel as an equal when
interacting with the United States. We must share American ideals with the world, and not
force it upon them. America must realize that the time to be arrogant has passed and in order
to thrive in a global community she must be willing to compromise and to open and maintain
dialogues with other countries. Only then can the image of America be remade.

Category B (ages 19‐39)

Second Prize
Creating Unity while Maintaining Identity
Simon Hansen, Leland, Mississippi

Out of many, one: a principle that guided separate colonies to forge a single union 232
years ago; one which cost 600,000 lives in a civil war to ensure freedom for all; one which
propelled America as a beacon of liberty throughout the world. Comprised of ever‐increasing
identities differing in race, gender, ethnicity, and income, America must remember its beauty
springs from the idea that out of many we remain one.
Yet recent years have seen those things that distinguish us inexplicably separate us. White or
black too often determines whether one is rich or poor; rich or poor too often decides whether
one is educated or uneducated; educated or uneducated too often dictates whether one can
pursue the dreams they seek to fulfill, the dreams promised by those who came before us. The
unity that served as America’s foundation is crumbling and the opportunities so many sacrificed
so much to provide and defend are escaping too many.
But in the shadow of these deficiencies awaits citizens possessing the hope to overcome these
obstacles. Those who witnessed warriors fight for civil rights and studied the heroines that
ensured women’s suffrage understand that nothing can stop a noble cause. The dedication of a
few will eradicate the despair of many until America stands united against the plight of
inequality based on identity.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” President Lincoln’s words resonate just as clearly
today as they did when he proclaimed them 150 years ago. E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one.
This generation possesses the responsibility to prevent those words found on America’s
currency from being lost on America’s people.

Category C (ages 40 and older)

Second Prize
Anne Nolan, Saint Cloud, Minnesota

In October 23, 1990, in his first debate with Rudy Boschwitz, Paul Wellstone observed,
“We’re not going to have real security until we invest in our children.” Today that quote
shows up on bumper stickers – and well it should. As we embrace the challenge of remaking
America, on issue after issue, investing in our children ‐‐ and in the world they’ll inherit ‐‐ will
guide our way.
For too long we’ve tolerated a worship of “the market” that treats children as an expensive
consumer good – like luxuries that people shouldn’t acquire in the first place if they “can’t
afford them.” But as economist Nancy Folbre points out, it’s not like choosing to raise a pet: “I
just remind people that when their Lab grows up it’s not going to pay their Social Security.”
In fact, because children don’t earn or spend much money, they don’t generate much economic
demand – so looking at the world solely through a “market” lens pretty much guarantees that
everything children need will be artificially undervalued. We’ve had at least eight years of
valuing everything in society that way, and we’ve seen the results. As the Onion once put it,
“our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over.”
So let’s admit a market failure. Let’s remake America as if children were guiding our
investments. Let’s clean up our planet, rebuild our infrastructure, and bring our troops home
to their families. Let’s regard wages a family can live on, health care a family can depend on,
and education a family can reach their full potential on as human rights – because they are.
Paul Wellstone, it turns out, was right all along.