"Tennessee 4-H: Your Voice is the Driving Force"
Jadalyn Brown, Hickman County

 
        There is great power in the human voice. From trying to persuade someone to see a particular point view or trying to discourage them from doing something harmful, we can use our voices to influence, persuade, educate, encourage, lead, heal or soothe. We all have the opportunity to motivate and lead people with our voice. Your voice can be change in people’s lives; it can have a tremendous impact on the future.

         Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech about freedom and how he believed that all mean would be free one day; his voice served as a beacon of hope for our country and the world. People heard what he had to say; they listened to him and pushed for equality. He spoke up because he wanted to be treated with respect and wanted the same for all people. Because of Martin Luther King, Jr. the world is now a very different place.

         When people speak, it isn’t always the truth. As Adolph Hitler said, “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it and eventually they will believe it.” We all know from our history books and the History Channel what horrific acts he was able to perpetrate upon millions of people. His words, unlike those spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr., did not have a positive influence on mankind.

         There are different types of voices on many different levels. Some speak for those who cannot or are afraid to speak for themselves. Children, the elderly, those who are sick, the abused, specific groups of individuals (employees, students, service men and women) and the mentally and physically challenged all need people to give voice to those needs. Then there are those who are elected or appointed to speak up for groups of people. But they all have something in common; they give voice to ideas that serve the very best interest of those whom they represent.

         We select officials who we believe will have our best interests in mind and will reflect our wishes with a single vote. The people we elect are those we choose to make the right decisions. These people play a very important role in our society and we must give careful consideration to their character, experience and education before we give them our vote on a city, county, state and federal level. We want them to know and understand the people they represent. Our elected and appointed officials work together to make our society function properly. They realize the problems, but also recognize the things that do work. They use their voice to speak out on how to better serve the people in our society.

         4-H is an excellent organization that gives young people a place to develop and use our voices. It gives us opportunities to grow, relate and be of service to others by developing our inherent gifts and abilities to the fullest. It enables us to grow self-confident and self-reliant in our actions and speech. We each have our own voice and with it the power to speak out and make change happen. We can become agents of positive change in our club, community, country and the world with our voice as the driving force.