Letters: Americans have a choice between 2 value systems; BLM doesn’t apply to all

Value systems at stake in election

We have a choice this November between two very different value systems. One operates on utter loyalty to the in-group, clearly displays contempt for anyone else, and does “whatever it takes” to win. We Americans have been caught off guard by this group’s all-out attack on traditional ways, so doing “whatever it takes” — including outright deceit — may seem effective. But violating social standards (honesty, accountability) erodes relationships and destroys trust, and signals how desperate this group is to grasp power.

The other value system is our traditional American way of laws, social trust and responsibility. We are familiar with how this system works, so we know what to expect. “Business as usual” is slow because rules are followed, so the progress it brings is incremental. But progress does come, thanks to our Constitution, a shared social contract that recognizes and protects every human life equally.

We foolishly take for granted the legal system that provides us with individual rights, like voting. We’ve grown blind to the dangers of autocracy — like in strongman Putin’s Russia — exactly what we fought to escape in 1776.

I urge you to use your precious opportunity to vote. Our president is not only flirting with dictators, he’s making an audacious grab for power. He’s dismantling the U.S. Postal Service — removing thousands of sorting machines and mailboxes — and polling places are being closed, all so Americans cannot vote fairly. Let’s deprive this would-be autocrat of his victory over us.

Urge support for Keeping Girls in School Act

The Borgen Project is a nonprofit that focuses on lobbying the government to support bills that aid with global issues. As a Borgen Project ambassador at Penn State, I am focusing on the Keeping Girls in School Act and encouraging people to contact their congressional leaders in support of this very important act. The Keeping Girls in School Act could cut child deaths by 50% and reduce child marriage by 66%. It also has the power to decrease violent conflict by 37% and save worldwide governments 5% or more on education budgets.

To help this bill pass Congress, contact Centre County’s representatives, Sen. Pat Toomey, Sen. Bob Casey Rep. Fred Keller and Rep. Glenn Thompson. We have the power to help promote gender equality and aid with secondary education across the globe and our representatives will listen to the voice of their constituents.

BLM doesn’t apply to all

The Black Lives Matter organization should change its name to Black Lives Matter When White Police Officers Can Be Blamed For Ending Them. Al Sharpton, Benjamin Crump and other supporters never “protest” in Chicago where Black-on-Black violence results in hundreds of murdered Blacks every year. They are rabble-rousers, complaining about “racially motivated police brutality” even when evidence is lacking. That usually leads to municipal mayhem.

The organization also should be condemned because it wants to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children ....” That objective is listed on its website. Those responsible for it ignore the fact that the “nuclear family” (adult male + adult female + their biological or adopted children) has been a quintessential feature of human societies for thousands of years.

There’s no mention on the website of the phrase “All Lives Matter,” but one local supporter of BLMWWPOCBBFET is upset about it. In an Aug. 13 CDT letter she laments use of the phrase as a “glib rejoinder” to the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” She believes ALM is “a statement of support for racially motivated, discriminatory policing practices.” She wants public expression of ALM to “please, just stop.” She evidently is not embarrassed by the pandering to “people of color” or troubled about suspending our constitutional right to freely express ourselves. If that mindset is widely shared by other Americans, heaven help us.