Tim Mannello

Williamsport

Our country is divided between two groups with contradictory notions about what it means to be an American.

The first group believes that ALL people (not just all men) are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain rights that cannot be taken away from them. This group believes we cannot remain the Constitutional Republic of the United States with democratic institutions and principles without adhering to this belief in universal equality. This view of equality holds that the Constitution requires the protection of individual rights, the rule of law and the equal representation of ALL citizens.

The second group believes and proposes policies advancing the idea that the equality given by our Creator does not extend to “the other,” that is, to those who are different from us. People who hold this view propose policies that undermine the Constitution’s requirements requiring equal treatment under the law, civil rights, equal opportunity or equal access to political participation for people of different color, ethnicity, or with different personal profiles or backgrounds.

In November, we will get to vote for a Federal government that supports one of these two contradictory ideas of what it means to be an American: the Constitution protects 1) the rights of ALL or 2) just the rights of those who make up the present majority of our nation’s population.