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Second Prize Winner:
Lauren Hough
Indian Trail Elementary School
Indian Trail, North Carolina
5th Grade
Editorial

Do Not Abuse Freedom

Freedom does not come easily. To get our freedom, we fought battles and we won. Americans everywhere take their freedom for granted. Some Americans abuse their freedom. We have the freedom of choice, freedom to vote, freedom of speech, and many others.

Some abuse the freedom to vote. People will say, "I don't want to vote," and then when someone wins, they do not like it and they complain about it. If you want someone to win, then you should vote because your vote could make the biggest difference. Your vote could have helped the person you wanted to win.

If you abuse freedom of choice, then you abuse the right to choose something different. For example, if one person says they want a pink outfit and you are so much of a friend to that person, you may say you also want the pink outfit, even though you hate pink. Then you would be abusing the freedom of choice.

A lot of people do not have any freedom at all. To have these freedoms is a great honor. Do not take them for granted and do not abuse them. If you abuse them too much, they could disappear.