To the Editor:
I was listening to a show with two historians discussing what it means to be an American.
They made the point that in the Constitution it is declared that in America there is only one title, 'citizen,' and that everything else is temporary: president, general, doctor, etc. They talked about the Federalists Essays, where Hamilton said, 'We are deciding for ALL OF TIME whether it is possible to create a country based on deliberation and choice or a world that will be decided by warfare and force.'
The actions we take now will decide that for all mankind. We are in exactly that situation again now.
The American Experiment was a risk that had never before been taken, but we take that risk every election because we believe there is something higher and nobler in this idea that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. The Constitution at first limited power to wealthy white men who owned land. Returning to that notion is clearly what this president's administration means by 'making America great again.' Project 2025 clearly lays out what they are doing: no votes for women or people of color, stopping immigrants from coming here … almost an ethnic cleansing, and turning America into a white Christian nation controlled by rich white men.
We must remember that each Amendment came at a time when society had grown wiser and was moving forward toward the original ideal of 'Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness' for everyone, not just a few.
But the wealthy few have always pushed back in their greed, and now it is up to us, like the founders, we have to decide that basic question.
Deep down, each of us know in our gut that until each of us are free, none of us are really free.
Michael Thompson - Plymouth
