“We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal. That they are endowed, by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."-- Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809

The congress will be voting soon on the voting rights Bill HR1—the For the People Act. Why are we still fighting for equality and the right to free access to voting for all of our citizens in 2021.The Republicans in state legislatures in many states are passing bills to limit access to voting. They have already passed over 200 bills to do that. In a democracy that is unacceptable and limits all of our rights and ultimately will destroy our democracy. We, the people, cannot allow them to do this. That is why voting rights bill HR1 must pass and be a protection for us all.

The United States and the world have been fighting discrimination for as long as people have walked on this earth. It has been the Catholics against the Protestants, discrimination against the Jews, Jews in conflict with Palestinians, crimes against Chinese workers and other Asians, The Crusades--Christians against the Muslims. Arab tribes against each other. intolerance between whites and blacks. The truth is that people do not like or trust others who are different than they are. It takes understanding and wisdom to learn to get along even in loving families.

We have come to a point in our world that we must learn to live together in peace and harmony or we will all ultimately die together because unless we learn to come together and solve our difficult problems together this civilization will ultimately disintegrate through nuclear destruction or unaddressed natural disasters like climate change.

Most of our religions have all tried to teach us to love and respect each other, but unfortunately some have also caused us to distrust anyone who is different.. Our moral and ethical leaders have worked hard to bring us closer to becoming more tolerant of differences. We cannot and should not force other people, whether it is our families or our fellow citizens, to think and feel as we do, but we must learn to respect the opinions and the choices of others as long as they also respect our opinions and our choices. We must all learn to make the effort to live together with respect and in peace. I don't know what the religions or political opinions or races of my neighbors on my street are, but we have all lived side by side for many years—each living the life that suits them and we are a good community.

Each of us must now look into our own hearts and root out the distrust that we might feel for those who are different from us and begin to live with more respect and tolerance for every human being in the US and in the world. We must reject words and deeds of intolerance and hate whether they come from our families, our religions, our communities, our TV's or our social media. Respect and tolerance for all human beings is the only option that will ultimately save our democracy and our planet.