Tyranny of the Minority 576.4
According to a survey of parents, 93 percent of them want schools to teach basic values like honesty and respect. The problem is, schools are left to contend with the seven percent of parents who disagree with that. In any enterprise that seeks to avoid conflict and find consensus, that small minority can often dictate policy.
Too often, aggressive objectors bully administrators into quick surrender with the threat of contentious and prolonged opposition. This has created a tyranny of the minority. Five percent can make so much noise that they seem like 25 percent. When it comes to a decision, they’re often treated as if they were 55 percent.
I support the right of all people to speak their minds and the corollary duty of administrators to listen to and consider what everyone has to say. My concern is, we seem to have elevated the right to be heard into a right to win. We seem to be turning the basic democratic principle of “the majority rules” upside down so that “the minority controls.” That’s not how democracy’s supposed to work.
Of course, the will of the majority never should be allowed to trample basic human rights of a minority. I’m not talking about persecution or discrimination. I’m talking about how to deal with disagreements.
Just as we must always guard against oppressive majorities, we must also guard against dictatorial minorities. We need leaders who have the moral courage to stand up to those who would thwart the will of the majority with demands, protests, and backdoor politicking.
We also need more people who are willing to lose and to subject their personal preferences to the will of the majority. Democracy requires respect from all sides.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Comments
This lesson seems to have been lost on leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
Posted by: Jeffrey L. Wissot, DDS | July 25, 2008 6:20 AM
Here's a new idea. How about parents teach the basic values of honesty and respect. Parents' willingness to abdicate the responsibility they have to direct and instruct their children is one of the major reasons we have the problems in our society that we do.
Posted by: Bryce | July 25, 2008 4:56 PM
The sooner we stop caving in to minority dissent and demands, the more faith and satisfaction we'll feel for our society and its institutions. Minority opinions have every right to be heard and considered, but not to become an exaggerated factor in decision-making processes.
Posted by: Ray | July 25, 2008 7:28 PM
I agree that parents SHOULD be the ones to teach values. But what if they don't? Where then will children learn, if not at school? Far better to learn to be honest than to learn algebra.
Posted by: Keith | August 1, 2008 10:25 AM
This is the most obscure, bizarre spin on democracy I have ever read. I'm surprised you're still in business. I bet you would try to sell beachfront property in Arizona. To those out there reading this information, this is not a valid way of considering the minority and majority. Keep looking.
Posted by: Steve | August 10, 2008 2:21 PM
A lesson we all need to remember. With the Institute's permission, I would like to print this commentary and distribute it to an ethics class for discussion. Thank you.
Eileen Jones
Buena Park Police Dept.
Buena Park, CA
Posted by: Eileen Jones | August 11, 2008 12:38 PM
Just what constitutes a "dictatorial minority?" Pre-Civil War slaves? Women wanting to vote? Those desiring inter-racial marriage? Blacks in the pre-civil rights South denied same facility rights? Those desiring gay marriage?
Exactly who gets to decide which groups have a valid complaint? Many who didn't have "the moral courage to stand up to those who would thwart the will of the majority" are now considered heroes. Have we forgotten the Founding Fathers? Abraham Lincoln? Martin Luther King Jr.? All opposed majority opinion against their objectives, yet all are amongst the greatest Americans.
Yes, we all need more civility in resolving issues. But to suggest that a minority group should concede to the majority for no other reason than majority rules is just plain ridiculous! If you don't think so, just as your wife to give up her right to vote or your black neighbor to move to another neighborhood or your Japanese coworker to give up his property.
Posted by: James | August 13, 2008 4:01 PM
Hey Ray:
If I can get the majority of Americans to agree that anyone named Ray should not be allowed to vote, would you agree to that provision? After all, "The sooner we stop caving in to minority dissent and demands, the more faith and satisfaction we'll feel for our society and its institutions." Right?
Posted by: John | August 13, 2008 4:09 PM
One other thing: we do NOT live in a democracy - we live in a republic. For a few years starting in the 60s it looked like we were moving toward a democracy, but the past few decades have seen a reversal. This country was founded as a republic and has steadfastly remained one. If you don't believe or understand this, just look back to the 2000 Presidential election and/or do a little homework.
Posted by: James | August 13, 2008 4:16 PM
Dishonest parents can't teach their children to be honest. it is not the schools' responsibility to teach social values but the reading, writing and math.
Many are birth mothers and sperm donors without regards to their products.
Why should the system care and pay for their stupidity?
Posted by: Dieter Oltersdorf | August 14, 2008 4:01 PM
Usually a majority has a better idea of what will work. The rights of minorities are protected by law. Is it possible you meant to say "caving in to minority dissent and demands of illegals"?
Posted by: Dieter Oltersdorf | August 14, 2008 4:25 PM
I most likely read this in one of your columns, "do the majority rule or the minority dictate"? I use this quote frequently. It clarifies, in a very concise manner, what is the problem at hand.
Posted by: Patricia Miller | August 15, 2008 5:32 AM
Schools were meant to teach our children how to survive in the world they would be functioning in. Somewhere along the way we decided that parents could abdicate their responsibility to ensure their children did not disrupt the learning of others or that they wouldn't be held back because they could not or would not learn to read, write and add. Development of a child's character starts at home and is the foundation for everything else they do in life.
Posted by: Rob Miller | August 18, 2008 7:58 AM