Majority Rule

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is that government is required to operate according to the will of the majority of the people while at the same time protecting the rights of the minority. We would live in a truly up-side-down world if the will of the minority determined what the entire group would do. This is basically what happened in the American Colonies under the Articles of Confederation, which required unanimous approval in all its decisions. Several problems during the Revolutionary War continued because a single state voted against the solution. When the Constitution was written, the Founders decided to do away with the unanimous vote for ratification. Only nine of the thirteen colonies needed to ratify the new Constitution. The need to protect the rights of minorities remains. W. Cleon Skousen wrote, "… It is important for us to remember that every ethnic group in the United States was once a minority. We are literally a nation of minorities. However, it is the newcomers who feel they are not yet first-class citizens. "It is the responsibility of the minorities themselves to learn the language, seek needed education, become self-sustaining, and make themselves recognized as a genuine asset to the community. Meanwhile, those who are already well established can help. The United States has built a reputation of being more generous and helpful to newcomers than any other nation. It is a reputation worth persevering. Once upon a time, we were all minorities." I taught the following principle to my children and am now teaching it to my grandchildren: Bigger people have to be careful around smaller people. This same principle applies to vehicles on the highway as well as to groups of people. It is only fair that the majority should make the decisions as well as protect the rights of minority. Ideas and quotes for this post came from The Five Thousand Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen, p 167.