At a time when the Constitution seems to be replacing the flag as the tool of choice for self-righteous political diatribes, it is ironic that one of the most basic tenets of the Constitution seems to be forgotten. In the United States – the majority does not rule!
You hear the complaint time and time again:
- The judge in California is an activist, and has no right overruling Prop 8 when the voters approved it.
- New York should NOT allow an Islamic Center to be built near Ground Zero because MOST Americans are against it.
- The filibuster should be abolished because it blocks the will of the majority.
- President Obama should get troops out of Afghanistan immediately because the American people want him to.
The “majority rules” argument is made on both sides of the political aisle. And the argument is always flawed.
The United States is a Representative Democracy. Yes we elect leaders via a “popular vote” but virtually every other institution of our government is designed to prevent popular opinion from dictating policy. (I like to think of it as an “Anti-American Idol” insurance system. If the popular vote can make Clay Aiken a star, I don’t want it anywhere near public policy.) Thankfully, through the electoral college, the filibuster, the judicial system, the First Amendment to the Constitution… America has developed a vast array of mechanisms to protect the voice and the interests of minority populations.
Recent debates around marriage rights and the “Ground Zero Mosque” offer clear testament to the wisdom of the Founding Fathers in creating a system to protect against the monopolization of power… the “slippery slope of tyranny.”
Despite the hyperbole and scare tactics around the issue, gay marriage is quite simply a question of civil rights. It’s no coincidence the arguments against gay marriage are nearly identical to the arguments that were once made against interracial marriage. The only difference seems to be that interracial marriage opponents were afraid the couples WOULD reproduce, while some gay marriage opponents cite the INABILITY to reproduce as a reason to deny this right. (See the absurd StarTribune column by Katherine Kersten that seems to also make a case against marriage for people who can’t or don’t want to have children… talk about a slippery slope!)
The outrage surrounding the Islamic Center in New York is, at its core, a test of one of our most basic principals as a country. Can a nation founded on religious freedom prevent one group from exercising this right just because they want to do it near Ground Zero? If you start to make exceptions to religious freedom, where exactly do you draw the line??
Think of where America would be without checks on “majority rule.” Civil rights, women’s rights, Social Security, Medicare… even something like Target Field… the list of “unpopular measures” that have benefited this country and our community goes on and on.
The Founding Fathers were indeed visionary in setting up a democratic system of government that would at the same time look out for the rights of minority populations and opinions. Before you criticize the system remember, today’s majority could be tomorrow’s minority.
How do you feel about the concept of “majority rule?” What are the best and worst examples of laws, rulings, etc. that have gone against the “will of the people?”
Blah Blah Blah!
What we have today instead is a tyranny of the minority rooted in a culture of complaint. Whiny pathetic imbeciles. Majority rule works when the majority is following constitutional principles. In most of the examples provided constitutional principles were actively in play. Particularly same sex marriage and the ground zero mosque.
And yes I do understand what it’s like to be in a minority. Clearly principled, rational people with common sense and a desire to uphold the constitution are in a minority today.
Exactly right….Will of the People is to be interpreted using the bases of The Constitution. I admire dissention and passion but it needs to be ruled by common sense and protection of the very freedoms that are being tested.
Excellent essay, very rational and well-expressed. I maintain that if the Civil Rights Act were left to popular vote, it would have failed by a wide margin. Thank you for reminding those who use the flag and constitution as a weapon and a shield of the real intent of the Constitution and the Founders.