Majority Rule with Respect for Minority Rights

Majority Rule with Respect for Minority Rights

Majority rule is the system of making decisions based on the side that more people support, that is, more than half the population makes the decision. This rule is mostly used in making legislative decisions in democratic nations. On the other hand, minority rights are what the marginalized groups are entitled to in relation to the more prominent groups. In most cases, the minority rights are the rights of the majority. The majority rule and the minority rights are used hand in hand in order to make sure that here is no group that is left out in the ruling of a nation. The majority rule is used in order to administer democracy, and that what the majority want should be given to them. On the other hand, the minority rights are administered so that there is no group or people who are left out. It is meant to make sure that every citizen is treated equally and fairly just like the other citizens are (Lewis, 2008).

The United States Constitution has greatly used the majority rule and the minority acts hand in hand in order to ensure that there is the smooth running of a nation while everybody feels fairly and equally treated. One example is the systems involved in checks and balances. These are mostly incorporated in the constitution. The constitution has the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Apart from making laws, another role of the legislature is to keep check on the executive. It makes sure that the executive rules for the good of all the people of the United States. Although it is independent, the judiciary can reject laws that show unfairness or advocate for the amendment of laws that do not give equal opportunity to all citizens. This was mostly shown in the ruling of the gay rights by the Supreme Court.

In the preamble of the constitution, the founding fathers noted that this was to promote the overall welfare of the people. Indeed, it was specified in the Preamble

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

In order to make this a reality, there were few powers conferred upon the federal government. The other powers were distributed to the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. In this way, no particular arm could favor special groups or people. All people were to be treated equally and fairly. Each arm therefore keeps each other in check. In other words, in as much as the majority is given the privilege of having their way, they cannot pass laws that will favor particular people and leave others not catered for (Lewis, 2008).

The constitution allows the people to choose a representative who represents them in the House of Representatives or in the House of Congress. These representatives go there because they are chosen by the majority. The president is also chosen by the majority as is indicated by the constitution. However, the minority are not left out. These same representatives make laws and make sure that they hear the voices of all the people. For the example, these representatives passed the Women’s suffrage Act of 1920. Women are considered as a minority/marginalized group. Many other laws have been made to protect other minority groups like the physically challenged people, aliens, and children amongst others. All these laws have been made by the same representatives elected by the majority.

As mentioned earlier, the majority are the people who have their representative go to the House of Representatives or the congressional house. The president chosen by the majority also gets to reign. Most laws are passed by the majority rule in the House of Congress. However, these laws must be in line with the interest of all the citizens. For example, the right for all children, no matter their background race, to receive an education is a law passed by the majority in favor of a marginalized or a minority group (Lewis, 2008). Indeed according to the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1:

“…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The majority rule means that most of the people in a given situation want to be led in a particular way. In most cases, the minority have to go with the ruling of the majority and thus blend in. however, it has been verified that the ruling of the majority is to the benefit of the whole country in general. For example, even though the constitution allows the president to be elected by the majority of the Americans, it is important that the candidate have won in the majority of the states and not just the general number of votes in the country. In this way, he would have won fairly and evenly. On the other hand, the other posts should have representatives comprising of all groups and inclusive of women, African Americans, the physically challenged, amongst others.

The laws made by the majority make sure that the minority have a right. The people in Congress make sure that they are representing all Americans in general and not just those who elected them. In the same way, the president represents all Americans and not just those who put him in power directly. The people who feel like they are the majority are put at par with those who regard themselves as the minority through the law. The judiciary has been put in place to ensure that justice is done and everybody is treated equally. The Constitution has greatly incorporated the rights of both the minority and the majority in order to establish that everybody is treated equally and fairly.

 

Reference

Lewis, D. C. (2008). Majority rule: Direct democracy and minority rights. Upper Saddle River, NJ: ProQuest

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