|
|
|
Weather:33°FFair |
Letting majority rule be our main method of deciding controversial issues has left America as a country with institutionalized, mutually-agreed-upon prejudices. From slavery to denying women the right to vote to our current ban on gay marriage in most states we have made discrimination okay as long as 50 percent of us agree on it.
The people as a whole make bad decisions. Take a look at the most popular pretty much anything and you can easily see that the pubic should not pick a restaurant let alone decide who can marry whom.
Majority rule leads to “Two and a Half Men,” “2012″ and Lady Gaga. The people at large gave us the Big Mac, the Snuggie and the universal availability of the jalapeno popper. Letting the masses decide is fine when picking a prime time lineup or selecting a snack. It does not work when we confront vital issues.
People in general (not people specifically) lack the ability to govern themselves. As a voting public we are too easily swayed by our personal biases and most people make voting decisions based on their beliefs instead of actual right or wrong.
Denying someone else a right whether it be gay marriage or sitting in front on the bus because you find the idea distasteful is simply wrong. Even if you believe that a particular act or personal engagement is morally wrong, it should be easy to realize that we should not be making moral decisions for each other.
Put simply, I consider ordering well-done steak, enjoying Jay Leno and using the words “genius” and “Coldplay” in the same sentence as reprehensible. I will certainly express my opinion on those topics, but I would not vote for a law that outlaws any of those things (though Leno does make it tempting).
Even if I believed that some sort of higher power agreed with me and considered engaging in any of those three actions an affront to the heavens, I would express my thoughts but leave the punishing to whatever deity took my side. Never would I be so presumptuous to believe that my particular religious beliefs trumped all others and gave me the right to make laws that prohibit people from doing things simply because I choose to believe that they are wrong.
If the majority always ruled than American Idol would be on seven nights a week, dinner would be catered by Olive Garden and we wouldn’t have things like religious freedom, the right to express unpopular opinions or minorities voting. Doing what most people want makes sense when you and your pals are picking a weekend activity. It does not usually represent good public policy.
Daniel B. Kline’s work appears in over 100 papers weekly. When he is not writing Kline serves as general manager of Time Machine Hobby New England’s largest hobby and toy store, www.timemachinehobby.com. He can be reached at dan@notastep.com or you can see his archive at dbkline.com or befriend him at facebook.com/ dankline.
Apparently Mr. Kline has not seen or read many recent supreme court decisions, or met anyone from the ACLU. According to both of those sources, they are more intent upon furthering the opportunities of the minority than of the majority. Most of us appreciate the fact that our military cemeteries are adorned by markers representing the faiths of our soldiers, and most of us believe that merit, rather than other factors should be the major factor in things like hiring, college admissions, and the like. Congress in fact is just as guilty, as a majority of Americans do not want a government run health system, but it seems that the liberals there are insistent that we have such. In some respects though, the minority DOES get its way. Only forty percent of all Americans pay taxes, supporting the whims of the majority. Mr. Kline’s wish for gay marraige goes against the mores of a majority od Americans, and when put to a vote, it gets defeated. Why? Because most Americans view marraige as something that is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. Period. Most states, and the federal government, grant the same status to gays as far as inheritance, insurance coverage, and other factors, and of course a gay person has the same rights as any other American before the bar. So what makes them a “special class?” Nothing. Gay organizations are intent to rub Americans’ noses in the fact that gays are a group to be reckoned with. Gay days at theme parks, gay pride parades, gay this and gay that. What would happen if we had a parade that didn’t celebrate a cause? Oh, wait, it happens all the time. Memorial day, Thanksgiving day, New Years day, homecomings, and the like. As Joe Biden told us earlier this year, “Be American, Get in the Game!”
So, in other words, the Majority doesn’t know what it’s doing? That explains how a guy with a 5 minute career as a “community organizer”, who never finished his first term as a state senator, and never finished his first term as a US senator got elected president of the United States. Thanks for clearing that up.
I wouldn’t mind the “Moral Majority” if they
were a little Mopral.
……………………….and……………………..
I would like the “Silent Majority”, if they were
in fact a lot more Silent.
I aqm noty Gay, but do understand one may
not in fact be happy being Gay, but I think
they should have the same rights as others
even a failed Marrige, or a sucessfull Marrige.