The Declaration of Independence dissolved America’s ties with his Royal Highness of Great Britain, with the determination to never to be governed by any individuals other than those elected by “we the people.”

Eleven years later, our forefathers secured that freedom on the battlefield and codified the moral vision of our country in the Constitution of the United States.

The cardinal principle of that Constitution was “liberty for all,” which was later upheld at great cost by the in the Civil War. Blood was shed to ensure the moral intent of this country.

Through our votes, we have given elected women and men our legal consent to govern, believing these officials would secure and protect the intrinsic rights of all citizens. Our forefathers created a representative democracy. But our representative democracy is based on more than a simple election that confirms the will of the people. It requires the everlasting vigilance of voters to safeguard our inalienable rights. Our rights cannot be ceded, bartered, nor sold. This is the only way our Democracy (capital ‘D’) can subsist.

The Constitution of these United States and its guarantee of civil rights and liberties does not manifest magically, without effort. Our democracy requires cooperation among the leadership of our political parties. But when you consider the ideological difference of red states vs. blue and purple states, you quickly realize what a monumental challenge our country faces.

We must be aware of an element among our policymakers that harbors an iniquitous agenda to nullify our rights.

This faction vilifies a free press, creates oppressive voting laws, and is determined to expunge our rights of self-identification.

The 118th Congress, led by Republicans with majority control of the House of Representatives, is attempting to legislate our country as if it is a fundamentalist Christian nation. These extreme conservatives are tinkering with our inalienable rights. They characterize their efforts in moral terms, while flaunting binary gender ideals and creating laws of domination and intimidation.

We can’t allow the reconfiguration of voting laws that puts power in the hands of intolerant and bigoted leaders on Capitol Hill. We can’t stand by and witness the passing of laws that suppress the rights of women, gays and transgender people.

We must not allow politicians to control public school curricula for the sake of gaining constituent support based on their common personal views of what it means to live a proper life. And we cannot allow our government officials to legislate in favor of one religion over another.

Today our country is in the midst of a culture war in which members of the two major political parties struggle for dominance to define truth — at the risk of obliterating freedom of thought and freedom to self-identify. At stake is the matter of how we define our Democracy and our expectations of government.

Leaders of the far right are assuming a posture of oppression by nibbling at the edges of our collective freedoms. This is not about who is right. This is about what is right. We must remember this as we cast our votes.