Our system of government is a federal republic, with elements of democratic ideals. Those include equality before the law and the right to vote by those who qualify.
Included in our system is respect for the rights of the minority. Protection for those not in the majority is written in our laws and enforced through our courts. And it is right that it is so.
But lately, this has been turned on its head. Those in the minority are now driving the public agenda, and those who are in the majority are either vilified or marginalized in the push to be inclusive and non-threatening. Any criticism of those who qualify for minority status are accused of being some kind of phobic and are held up for public ridicule for not toeing the accepted doctrinal lines.
Take, for example, the experience of two small businesses in our great Republic. An Oregon florist was driven out of her small shop because she declined to create floral arrangements for a gay wedding. She had a long-standing and publicly known belief in marriage being reserved for a man and a woman. She felt by using her creative abilities to celebrate such an occasion would violate her deeply held religious beliefs. And the state sued her for illegal discrimination, despite the fact that she had no qualms about serving those who were gay in her business. Of course, the power of the state broke her, as she was fined large amounts, eventually causing the business to fail.
Another small business was a cake shop in Colorado. The same scenario unfolded when the proprietor, who willingly served those who were gay, refused to use his obvious talents to create a wedding cake for a gay couple. Colorado’s civil rights commission managed to accuse him of discrimination, even though his Christian faith would not let him celebrate and validate gay marriage. This case eventually found its way to the Supreme Court, where the baker won, but not before hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent trying to vindicate his religious liberty.
These are not the only cases of the minority trying to run roughshod over the majority. President Obama issued his directive to schools to allow students to use whatever bathroom they wished, even if the gender they felt they were was not what they were born with. Just this past week, in a single case, the Supreme Court allowed this practice to stand in a school district in the East.
Even though Muslims comprise a very small percentage of American citizens, they are treated as a protected minority where even the most valid criticisms of actions by Muslims (see terrorism), accusations of Islamophobia are hurled about. Claim that “all lives matter” and you will be called haters of African-Americans. Call transgender unnatural and shouts of bigotry and transphobia will come your way.
Oppose illegal immigration and charges of anti-Hispanic will be laid at your feet. Be pro-life and automatically you become, in many eyes, anti-women (in spite of the fact that women outnumber men in our country). Believe in the Bible, be an evangelical Christian, and words of hatred come your way.
It has come to point that many, myself included, just keep our core convictions to ourselves, for to voice these will bring approbation from many quarters. But is this what the founding fathers created, a Leviathan that twists “respect” for minorities into license for minorities to vilify the majority?
I am a 77-year-old white man. A conservative Christian. Conservative in my political beliefs. Convinced that marriage is between a man and a woman — period.
I believe life begins at conception, no exceptions. I do not have a prejudiced bone in my body. I have worked with those of different faiths, different ethnicities, different sexual orientation, and had not problems with them.
Yet there are those who would call me bigoted, small minded, prejudiced, un-American — trans whatever phobic you can think of. If a transgender African-American married to an illegal immigrant, a convert to Islam, a pro-choice supporter of abortion, whose only child was gay were to have a conservation with me, would he/she respect my beliefs? Would I be able to voice my opinions in a manner conducive to civility? Would my status as a part of a majority (which white, straight, of strong Christian faith are) be honored enough without vilification?
But minorities seem to have the upper hand in politics, in social policy, in initiating and enacting public policy. Where do I go to get a respected seat at the national table? Democracy — is it dead to me?