George W. Bush was sworn in as our 43rd president. In his presidential victory speech (Bellingham Herald, Dec 14) he said, "I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation."

The first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, gave imptus to the civil rights movement when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The movement began to gather momentum under the Eisenhour administration when the Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of public schools.

The assasination of Martin Luther King Jr. forced the American people to confront the specter of discrimination in our own country and the devastating effect it has on the individual and to their community.

If President Bush attempts to roll back human rights, then Congress will react to prevent it. Many members of Congress from both parties believe that all men are created equal and that no one should be judged on the basis of their race, creed or sexual orientation.

President Bush lacks a mandate from the people to pursue his own party's narrow agenda as he lost the popular vote of the people. Neither Congress nor the people will accept a reversal of our nation's progress toward civil rights.

In order to avoid his father's legacy as a single-term president, President Bush must unite a divided nation, heal the wounds from a tainted election and provide the means to achieve equal rights for all.

Sheila L Richardson
Bellingham