OP-ED: Mastriano wants to force his morality on us all
Disgraced former gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano has come out of the woodwork to provide an essay in the Wednesday edition, “Parental Rights Must be Fortified in Pennsylvania,” that is a thinly-veiled effort to force his version of morality on all of us, and it is disingenuous.
Mastriano claims that critical race theory is being taught throughout Pennsylvania. Where? There is a distinction to be made between a nonexistent effort to make white students feel guilty and providing them the history of their ancestors’ oppression of Blacks and the history of racism.
Mastriano criticizes Pennsylvania school districts for requiring teachers to “know and acknowledge racial biases exist in the educational system.” How is that something to criticize when it is accurate? To this day, we find racism ingrained in our society. Black homeowners often have difficulty securing mortgages. Their homes are assessed at lower amounts than comparable residences of white families. Minorities often have challenges in filing legitimate insurance claims. Individuals with names that sound Black are often less likely to be contacted by a prospective employer than applicants with white-sounding names.
Let us recall that Doug Mastriano is the candidate who pledged to slash funding for public education, who opposes the right of gay men and women to marry the person they love, who boasted about how he could nullify an election whose outcome he did not like and that he could confiscate voting machines. He has sought to erase the line between church and state, imposing his religious values on others. Most importantly, Mastriano was one of the most prominent figures in the country who sought to overturn the legitimate result of the 2020 presidential election. All of these positions, as well as his unwillingness to talk to the media or to conduct an active and spirited campaign, predictably led to a landslide victory for his honorable opponent, Josh Shapiro.
Doug Mastriano wears his military service and purported religiosity on his sleeve. Neither of those attributes has served to make him an honorable and tolerant man. Thank God he does not reside today in the Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion.
Oren Spiegler is a Peters Township resident.