Freedom, opportunity and equality: these are the pillars of what makes America so unique and lead many people around the world to aspire to become Americans.

People like my parents, who in 1970 left difficult circumstances in India, hoping for a better and more equal life for their newborn girl.

With their sacrifice, and the opportunities in America, I attended Fremont’s public schools, studied at several of our nation’s best educational institutions and became a physician and professor at Stanford, treating the most heartbreaking and complex medical problems people face and teaching our next generation of doctors.

In the history of the world, no country can rival America in its promotion of the principles that brought my family and so many others here.

Thomas Jefferson famously observed that, “the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” Those are not just words. Our liberties, together with the opportunity afforded by such liberties, are always threatened by those who would compromise them in the pursuit of other goals.

Recently in Sacramento, we witnessed this as some lawmakers proposed to reintroduce racial discrimination into college admissions with a bill known as SCA-5.

In the two centuries since our country’s founding, many Americans have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of equality of opportunity and the primacy of merit. Granting college admissions, promotions, or other rewards on the basis of race, sex or factors other than merit undermine their work and sacrifice.

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming Michigan’s ban on racial preferences in college admissions provides reinforcement to California’s Proposition 209 but it does not prevent attempts to dismantle it down the road.

As a mother to two young children, I’m concerned about the quality of our schools, and the job they’re doing — or not doing. Too often, laws coming out of Sacramento and Washington are contributing to the problem by imposing unnecessary limits on teaching, learning, curriculum and more.

Many of our most underperforming public schools serve African-American and Latino communities, putting the students in those schools at a disadvantage. Skewing college admissions in favor of one group (and by definition, against others) papers over this problem.

Instead of putting the government’s thumb on the scale of college admissions, we need bolder reform of our public schools that gives parents and students more options to choose the school that provides the best fit.

In my campaign for Congress I’ve met with many Silicon Valley residents who are concerned that our next generation will not enjoy the same quality of life that my generation has experienced. Leaders in Washington are leaving the next generation a mountain of debt that permanently will lock in higher taxes, more expensive government and a more difficult time making ends meet.

We can see it today with the number of young people moving back in with their parents, those who cannot find work or are underemployed and those whose quality of life is crippled by massive student loans and no way to pay them off.

Equally pressing, the tremendous rise in the real cost of living these policies produce has left our middle-class families feeling powerless and with tremendous job insecurity.

These are big problems — but not impossible ones. There are answers and solutions, but they demand a new generation of leadership in Congress. That’s what I’m offering the people of Silicon Valley, and I can’t wait to get started.

Dr. Vanila Singh, a professor and physician at Stanford University, is a candidate for the 17th Congressional District now represented by Mike Honda. She wrote this for this newspaper.