Just wanted to throw this out there, what with an election next year and Easter (and more specifically Good Friday) having passed recently.
Majority doesn’t rule.
That’s not what our country or any democratic republic should strive for. Neither should we strive for our leaders to do our will or their will. That’s not why we join together in a government and society for.
We join not to have our way or to be taken advantage of by leadership, but to strive for a higher, objective and rational standard of interaction amongst ourselves.
The stark difference between these two processes is nowhere more clear than the parable of Jesus and the Cross. In that story, Jesus is taken into custody without due process, and is then paraded before the masses. They all vote to condemn him to death without a stitch of evidence or any form of defense.
Now while I recognize that according to Christian doctrine the crucifixion represents a major sacrifice by Jesus that was entirely necessary for everyones’ immortal souls to be eternally awesome with God, I don’t buy it. Call me crazy, but I think it sucks that Jesus got killed. It was stupid and it represents all that is wrong with humanity to this very day.
Now maybe it’s the Christian line that allows my fellow citizens to decry “Majority Rules” or some jibberjabber about how since Bush got elected it means the American People want a Fascist State and mandatory prayer and so on, or maybe not. I just know that there’s a lot of people out there that consider #1 first and it ain’t Jesus Christ, it’s their own view.
They are quick to call for less than equitable justice for detainees and quick to shout support our troops while mumbling don’t ask don’t tell. And then a group if British soldiers get captured and the same people are griping about how they were treated. So, just to wrap it up as neatly as possible: I’m not free until everyone is free. You’re not free until everyone is free.
The Pledge of Allegiance can have the word God in it until the cows come home and it won’t make a stitch of difference unless the people feel the weight of the words they chant before the sporting event, but those more important string of words at the end that are more important (and certainly would stop any further Jesus-style crucifixions): “with Liberty and Justice for all” (emphasis mine).