Democracy means that the majority rules in any such system. In practice, when three vote, two becomes the number that decides the issue. Fortunately for us, the founding fathers were wise enough not to construct the new nation on that premise.
For those who have forgotten how our system operates, we have a republic. Elected officials from the various component parts of the nation meet and make decisions for the entire country. In our legislative body, the Congress, we have 435 Representatives, meaning 218 votes controls any bill. One hundred Senators also must weigh in on that bill, with 51 constituting a majority. Both Houses then must bargain with each other to make sure both have exactly the same wording so the bill can be sent to the President for his signature or his veto.
In our system, the minority is an important factor. Members of that party get to participate in the committee testimony, argue in favor of their positions, offer amendments or alternative solutions to problems targeted by proposed legislation. For the past 228 years (we began functioning as a constitutional government in 1789 after the ratification of the Constitution) this system has worked. Sometimes there have been more rancor in the process, sometimes less. But the majority has the initiative, because, as in the words of a former president, “elections have consequences”.
But in recent years a trend has developed. The minority, both in society and in the law making bodies, has been taking over. A few examples show this, and make us wonder where we are headed in our government and way of life. I would call it, for want of a better term, the tyranny of the minority. My examples run the risk of my being labeled a bigot and racist, but we are in a nation that is run by the majority, with respect to the rights and privileges of the minorities within our borders.
Congress is the most prominent of the minority trying to “rule” over the elected majority. In the House of Representatives, 241 are Republican, while 193 are Democratic. In the Senate, the breakdown is 52 Republican, 46 Democrat, and 2 Independents, who both caucus with the Democrats. The President was elected as a Republican last November.
But what has happened since Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20, five months ago? The minority has called themselves #Resistance, and have fought the majority in every endeavor. From prolonged confirmation hearings for Presidential appointments to contentious hearings by committees to accusations of nefarious doings by Republicans and the President, the will of the people as expressed in the elections is being sabotaged. Demonstrations and wild accusations come have obscured the good things done by the new administration. Even now a special prosecutor, long sought by the Democrats, is looking into already debunked charges the President “colluded” with the Russians in the election. If, through some legerdemain, Trump is forced from office, the minority will have won.
In society, we see the same phenomenon play out. Most polls place the transgender population in America at 0.3 %. Yet our former president had his Education Department send out instructions to schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that “conformed to their view of themselves” rather than to their biological status as male or female. North Carolina saw an election turn on a law which ordered all to use bathrooms according to their birth status. Both that state and Texas have been targeted by companies, most notably sports teams and their tournaments, as transgender activists painted those places as intolerant, and bigoted against that tiny minority. My question, and this should be asked by all, what about the rights of the 99.7 % of people to be free from using bathrooms with those of the opposite sex? We cannot even criticize any actions or belief of the transgender population without being called homophobes. Is not this also the tyranny of the minority?
Since the unfortunate occurrence in Ferguson, MO, a group called Black Lives Matter has been very vocal about their view of racism in our society. This group is only a small part of the black community, but they have been able to disrupt speakers, force politicians to back their agenda and command much publicity by their words and actions. No one has ever denied the stain on American history that slavery was, but we have come a long way from that era and the time of Jim Crow laws. Improvement has been made, and more needs to be done in the area of civil rights, but allowing a small minority of the about 11 % of Americans who are African-Americans to set an agenda seems to be, again, allowing the tyranny of the minority.
And there is the issue of the atheists in our society. Again, the Pew Research Organization, in its Religious Landscape Survey of America, places the number of atheists at about 3.1 %. Yet, the loud and insistent voices from the non-believers have wreaked havoc on the religious practices of believers, of whom 80% or more are Christian in their beliefs. Well known is the successful drive to eliminate the Bible from the public school system. Many examples can be given show how a majority faith is being marginalized by a very small minority.
Many are the instances where crosses on public property have been removed because of the uproar caused by atheists. Nativity scenes have been taken down when challenged by these unbelievers. So many examples can be found that it would take more room than allowed here to list them all. Even in the “Year of the Lord” 2017 Christianity is under siege.
Moriah Bridges, a graduating senior of Pennsylvania’s Beaver High School, had her earned speech congratulating her fellow graduates censored because she dared to use this as a prayer and mentioned Jesus. Dr. Kent Medlin, head of schools in Willard, MO, was threatened with sanctions because of a graduate prayer, where again Jesus is referenced. Neosho, MO, has been the target of a lawsuit over a cross erected in the 1930’s. A small town in Wisconsin, Oconomowoc (correct spelling; I looked it up!) has been told to take down a sign put up 50 years ago that simply said, “The Churches of Oconomowoc Welcome You” at each end of the road that runs through it. Once again the tyranny of the minority seems to rule.
That same Pew survey places the number of Muslims at less than 1% (about 0.9). Yet anyone who criticizes Islam is immediately called Islamaphobic. We are told to not call the decades long reign of terror “radical Islamic terror” for fear of crossing some imaginary red line of linguistic correctness. Even when authorities know that there are mosques where imams preach violence against Christians, nothing is done because of the loud voices telling us to accommodate the minority. An Islamic society of Basking Ridge in New Jersey wanted to build a mosque but were denied a building permit because the structure did not meet their zoning standards. The U. S. Department of Justice under former President Obama joined in a lawsuit against Bernard Township, and won a judgment of $3.25 million. This is one of several times such lawsuits have been instituted against local communities across the United States, lawsuits aided and abetted by the previous administration’s Justice Department. Kowtowing to a minority seems to be allowing, again, the tyranny of the minority.
Before any claim that this blog is demeaning to the minorities depicted, please note that nowhere is there a call to abrogate the civil and political rights of any group not of the majority. These are to be protected, at all costs, for us to be considered an enlightened and civil society.
But what of the rights of the vast majority of us? Are we to be continually forced to subjugate our rights to every vocal minority that has an axe to grind? Part of the problem is that minorities frequently are the loudest and most organized of groups. Is that what it will take to right the ship of state? Why cannot we, the majority, be protected in our beliefs and practices? Will it take a nationwide movement of straight, Christian, Republican and patriotic citizens demonstrating at every slight we feel? Do we need networks arousing the populous when the minority seems to winning? Whatever happened to the time-honored practice of assimilation, the melting pot of humanity? What has made the nation great is the will of the people being honored, with the majority setting policy, and the minority allowed input and participation in our successful “experiment” in self-government.