When Kay was seventeen, in 1955, the Lancaster (Ohio) Junior Chamber of Congress held its annual "Voice of Democracy" contest and Kay Wagner wrote the following winning essay,

I Speak for Democracy

A democracy old enough to have a past,

Active enough to have a present,

Young enough to have a future.

I am an individual, not a robot

I am the product of my ancestors and my nation;

not the extrusion of a dialectic machine.

I am the strength of my father, the culture of my mother,

the teasing of my brothers and sisters;

not the orders of the MVD, the whip of the prison camp, nor the screams of my comrades.

I am of no one national origin. I have a strain of German, a fraction of Irish, and a part of French. Hence, I look on all men as brothers; not as enemies of the state.

I dance to the rhythms of the Negro, I use Arabic in mathematics, I imitate English law, I use the Phoenician alphabet, I enjoy French cuisine, and I profit by German science...You see, there is no room for prejudice.

I appreciate our abundant natural resources, the fertile fields, the dense forests, the rich mines operated by the able-bodied and willing.

I owe my education to democracy, because my state voted for mass education, my townsmen voted for schools, and my parents support my teachers.

I am what I read- what I see - what I hear. I may choose newspapers, magazines, periodicals, as well as radio or television programs.

I am not restricted to government-owned papers giving only their side of the story. My press is free.

I receive what I earn - I work where I please - doing the job I prefer.

No state official decided what I earn, where I work, or how I earn my living.

I have been protected in my job. I have not had to know long hours, poor wages, or dangerous working conditions.

I vote every day, for I choose what I buy as to price, quality, variety, color and size.

No National Trust specifies whether I shall buy or not, whether I use brand products or cheaper ones, whether I patronize the local grocery or cheaper ones.

I elect my officers and I may nominate the candidates. I face no one-column ballot.

I determine my own recreation, for I can be a golfer, swimmer, musician, or dancer. I am not forced to be on exhibition for the glory of the government.

I praise the American plan of Public Welfare to encourage the downhearted, feed the hungry, comfort the disturbed.

How pathetic it is to know that many nations win their people by impoverishing them, confusing them, and breaking down their spirit so they are willing to accept any way of life in an effort to better themselves.

I am sympathetic to the abnormal. The mentally ill are cared for and cured, the handicapped are loved and made to feel whole.

I abhor the inhuman government that kills or slaughters the unfortunate.

I can prove there is justice in our law courts, for my people are innocent until proven guilty.

What kind of justice decided that the innocent are guilty before the trial even begins.

I emphasize the fact "Democracy means Equality." Each child has the same start in life, each is given the same opportunities; true, there are differences in personality and abilities, but America needs foundry workers as well as college presidents.

The Caste System is a disheartening contrast. With no chance of advancement, men lack drive, ambition, incentive.

I know the tolerance of a Christian nation, the unselfishness, the pleasantness, the hope and the courage.

I have not met the persecutor, the atheist, the non-believer, nor can I realize the terror of the Spanish Inquisition, Socrates and the poison hemlock, or the persecution of the Christians in the Roman arenas.

Christ stands over America with open arms; now, just as he did 335 years ago when the first perilous hearts came to America's shores seeking his love an guidance.

Yes, I Speak for Democracy

I glory in the past,

I rejoice in the present,

I shall live in a Democratic future...for

I as an average American girl enjoy the fruits of generations of hard-working Americans. I feel the need, the demand, and the necessity of contributing to my American democracy.

I am ready to use my mind, my voice, and my strength to defend the weak, to protect the spiritual beliefs we know to be fine, to advocate the democracy of a Nation that was founded in the blood and prayers of righteous men.