Karen Testerman: Focus on differences creates victims not victors

To The Daily Sun,

Like many of the readers, I am an American of an ancestry that may include only one or many ethnic backgrounds. This is the reputation of the U.S., a country comprised of people from different countries with different cultural heritage who want to experience the opportunities that this great land affords to those who work hard, persevere and keep their eye on the prize.

This is the land where dreams come true. The land where one can live in liberty to pursue their happiness. Last Saturday was a testimony to this very characteristic of this great land. People from different backgrounds and heritage testified to their desires and their dreams in the land that recognizes that all men are created equal. This is the land where everyone can live the dream. This is the land of liberty, freedom with responsibility.

The road to every dream has obstacles, mistakes, setbacks and doubters, but we all have the opportunity to make the dream come true. America does not ensure the outcome, but here you can have the opportunity to achieve your goals if you work hard with determination and tenacity.

But this is not the America those who are shopping the critical race theory like Senator Dan Feltes and Gov. Chris Sununu promote. They would like us all to feel victimized and identified by the color of our skin or the shape of our eyes. They are wrong to identify our differences. Their methods will make victims not victors. So that they can swoop in as saviors to make us dependent on their handouts. That is not the promise of the land of the free and the home of the brave.

America is a land where we should celebrate our differences and the value those differences add to the richness of the people as we judge one another by the quality of their character. I for one don’t want to be a hyphenated American. I want to obtain a position or job because I am the most qualified, not because I am receiving extra points because of the color of my skin or the shape of my eyes.

We cannot allow the ideas of critical race theory to prevail. We must take a stand for real liberty and real opportunities not oppression and division. Let your voice be heard, let your Senators and the governor know that we reject the teaching of victimhood to our children. No CRT in our taxpayer funded schools or our places of employment.

Karen Testerman

Franklin