Ottumwa High School - Argus Yearbook (Ottumwa, IA)

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America. If this is so, why don't we work to establish a basis, one of our own? Today's youth is so capable of improving our present situation. We can do it, if we only would. Pride in America can also come through self- pride. It is never too early to begin improving the future. Independence Introduction 13

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. . . Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness . . . ” 1976. The United States' 200th anniversary. Naturally this means parades. T.V. specials, speeches, celebrations, the whole works. But what does this really mean? And what is the true meaning of America? We have been taught that the U.S. is the most democratic country on earth. We are the best. We vote, we elect, we are sovereign. Some peo- ple declare our freedoms as a farce. They tell us the “average citizen is being used by the government and big business, which is the same as telling us we are not free. Just how much of this is true? The U.S. is a free country and we are a free people. However, we must realize the possibility of having too much freedom. We must have some means of creating what is best for most. If we had complete, absolute freedom, there would be no freedom at all. Right and wrong would be non- existant, for there would be no means of determining what was right and what was wrong. This in itself would be an infringement of freedom. Ob- viously it is quite possible to go over- board and take away too much freedom. Because of this possibility, we must have safeguards to fall back on. In America, our means of es- tablishing the most effective amount of control is a system of Checks and Balances. This system prevents any one branch of government from gain- ing too much power. Congress can check the Executive Branch, the Ex- ecutive branch can check Congress, the Supreme Court enforces the Constitution, therefore protecting the people. Without this system, it would be comparitively easy to have too lit- tle representation and possibly too much representation. With the occurance of Vietnam, the Cuban Missle Crisis, and, of course, Watergate, Americans have become increasingly cynical and dis- trustful towards their government. It seems that there has never been such a large scale of corruption and dis- satisfaction. However if we look back to the years 1865-1869, we would find the near impeachment of Republican President Andrew John- son, a move that would have given a radical Republican group power over all branches of government. Half a century later would find us to the term of Warren G. Harding, an ex- tremely popular President. During his administration Attorney General Harry Daugherty sold pardons, paroles, and liquor permits to criminals, Charles R. Forbes, head of the Veterns' Bureau, swindled the U.S. out of $250 million by taking bribes from contractors and supplies, and perhaps the most famous scandal of the Harding administration, the Teapot Dome Affair. The U.S. has obviously had times just as corrupt as Watergate, etc. History has proven that we have always mastered these black periods. However, while we cannot change these periods of history, we can do something about the future. Our future. Many young adults feel they cannot find any basis for pride in 12 Introduction

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CONOR