Last week, an amazing all-American story quietly unfolded behind the scenes of the declaration by Gov. Josh Shapiro that Pennsylvania would not be participating in the America250 Great American State Fair Independence Celebration. Like myself, many Pennsylvanians were astonished to hear that our great state, the birthplace of our independence and constitutional republic, would not be celebrating our 250th anniversary.

So, in typical American fashion, “e pluribus unum,” many voices became one message: Pennsylvanians will not allow one man to dictate. Many texts and phone calls were made, respectfully communicating the civil discourse brewing that we were literally not being represented! Then, our two bipartisan senators, Dave McCormick, R, and John Fetterman, D, working with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins along with U.S. Rep. GT Thompson and Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, worked to secure private businesses, The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and other groups (at no taxpayers expense) to open the Pennsylvania exhibit booth at the Great American State Fair.

Our founders understood what inalienable rights meant. Every human born is graced with divine rights from God. That means no monarchy or government is above the rights of its citizens. Just as Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, our form of government only “derives its just powers” from our consent. So, what played out over the weekend was an exercise in what it’s like to be an American. People were united in a common cause to peacefully voice and orchestrate a mutually desired outcome.

Mary Kaye Soriano,

Zelienople