Alexa Johnston

Alexa Johnston of Powell placed third in the Wyoming Elks Americanism Contest this spring.

Johnston’s essay was judged locally with 46 essays in her division, which included fellow fifth-grade students.

From there, Johnston’s essay was selected as one of three to advance to the district level, which includes Worland, Greybull, Sheridan, Gillette, Cody and Powell. Her essay was then chosen as one of the top three in the region to proceed to the Wyoming State Association of Elks contest, where Johnston placed third overall in the state among fifth- and sixth-graders.

The Powell Elks Lodge No. 2303 hosted the contest locally, with judging mostly done by Elks veterans. This is the second year the local lodge has hosted the contest for Powell students.

The ambition and goal of the Elks’ Americanism program is to quicken the spirit of American patriotism and to stimulate an awareness — a genuine feeling of pride and respect toward patriotism.

Johnston recently completed the fifth grade at Southside Elementary School, where she was in Christy Landwehr’s class. She is the daughter of Jeremy and Amanda Johnston.

What freedom of speech means to me

By Alexa Johnston

Obviously freedom of speech means a lot to people of the United States, but it can mean a lot to people in many ways. One reason freedom of speech means so much to me is because I can tell the government something they may need to improve on and I will not get punished or sent to jail. I can practice my religion freely, and since the press can write other stuff besides what the president wants you to write so I can know what is really happening.

In other countries they could not practice their religion so that is why I am thankful I can practice my own religion because in other countries if you did not practice the religion the government wants you to, you could be sent to jail or get hurt, but here in the United States you can practice your religion freely and not get in trouble.

People who live in other countries can usually not tell the government things like “I don’t like this law. We should change it.” If they did that they could get hurt or sent to jail. That is why I am thankful I can have my own opinion about the government, either if I like it or not.

There are many reasons I am happy I have freedom of speech. I can have many freedoms other people in other countries do not like, being able to speak out, being able to practice my religion, and also being able to write about other things besides what the president wants me to write. These are the reasons I am very thankful to have freedom of speech, and you too should be thankful to have all these freedoms.