“In a democracy we are not all of the same mind, but we are all of the same purpose.”
Those words were heard at a meeting in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in January 1939 at a moment when democracy itself was under pressure around the world. As totalitarian regimes in Europe tightened control over education and their youth, shaping loyalty through fear and conformity, this voice in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region was articulating a very different vision.
Speaking before a Parent-Teacher Association near Wyoming, PA, Rabbi Louis Levitsky of Wilkes-Barre framed American education as something more than classroom instruction. It was, he argued, the foundation of democratic life built on independent thought, cooperation, and respect for others.
The remarks below offer a snapshot of that moment. They show how one religious and civic leader in the anthracite coal fields understood the connection between education, citizenship, and democracy on the eve of World War II.
In American youth there is required a sense of discipline, co-operation and neighborliness.
In a democracy we are not all of the same mind, but we are all of the same purpose.
American school activities teach how to co-operate and how to think independently.
There must be a development of human personality, a respect for personality of others, their religious and political views, and a spirit of co-operation and neighborliness.
This standard, strengthened in Wyoming, and multiplied by towns and cities of our country, would strengthen our democracy, and the same standard extended to other countries would be a factor in ensuring world peace.
Rabbi Levitsky served as leader of the Temple Israel synagogue in Wilkes-Barre during the 1930s and was a renowned speaker across Northeastern Pennsylvania in the 1930s.
Read more about the Coal Region on the verge of World War II
The Scranton Tribune condemns Kristallnacht | A 1938 editorial against Nazi violence
A 1938 editorial from the Coal Region urged loosening of immigration restrictions for refugees
Video interview | Talking about “The Bootleg Coal Rebellion” with author Mitch Troutman
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