The Tyranny of the Minority

The Founders of this country recognized not only that the Divine Right of Kings was an invalid philosophy but also that in forming a democracy there could become a tyranny of the majority. In this situation, ideologies could vote to limit the rights of those with whom they disagreed. They took this possibility seriously and put in place several checkpoints to protect against this intrusion. Included in these are the Senate, in which people are represented by the fact that they are in the Union rather than by the size of their population, the Courts, under which the Law would be overseen by a group of highly qualified individuals who served their region and the country, and, of course, The Bill of Rights.

What we see today is the tyranny of the minority. We can see this in the person of Mitch McConnell, who was elected by .0024% of the population of the United States, yet he uses his position to block any meaningful discussion of legislation and keeps his members in line with distributions of committee positions and cash. Any attempt at negotiations necessary to meaningful progress are met with scorn.

Because the Congress is broken, the Office of POTUS has been able to use tactics to grab power never vested there. We see Executive Orders taking the place of legislation and “Acting” titles taking the office of positions that rightfully should be confirmed by Congress. We see the current occupant acting in a manner that would have made Mad King George proud.

Likewise, an idea can take the throne of the tyrant. In a universe of ideas, it is the singular focus on abortion rights that drives American politics. While 77% of the US support Roe, no Republican who is serious about holding office can speak in favor and no Democrat can speak about changes. Where only the entrenched positions of the tyrant are permitted, progress is impossible.

This democracy was born to cast off the yoke of the King. The Founders put safeguards in place to prevent the tyranny of the majority. They believed that the factitious minority could never come together long enough to pose a threat. Little did they know.