How many rights do Whitewater’s residents possess? It’s a simple question, and there’s a simple answer: They possess all the rights of residency or citizenship, respectively, of Americans and Wisconsinites elsewhere.
One may express this plainly:
There is no local practice, no old custom, no reflexive habit that abrogates federal and state rights.
There’s no Whitewater exception to American law.
I’ve sadly heard more than once – including recently – of someone told that there’s a special local custom, etc., of a public body, or in our schools, that implicitly trumps national or state laws.
There isn’t.
It’s not some American rights, or some Wisconsin rights, for residents or citizens (depending on legal status). It’s all of those rights.
Fortunately, this is clear to most people; to hear otherwise is rare.
Still, one encounters a few people like this, now and again. I’d guess they mostly know that what they’re saying is wrong, but contend as they do selfishly or lazily, to have their way, or to shirk their duties.
The one thing these few do not deserve, and so must not have, is their way. It’s America’s way, and Wisconsin’s way, that all Whitewater deserves, and so must have.