 After my most recent column I received a number of emails that were consistent with the following correspondence:
“I am sick and tired of guys like you in the media chastising the public for their common sense on voting no on gay marriage. People don’t want it, it is simple as that, you can justify it by quoting this and quoting that, twisting this and twisting that.” You’re probably wondering, what exactly were the high-falutin quotes that I used in order to twist the meaning of words to appear condescending against the vaunted will of the people? As far as I could tell it was my reliance on the First and 14th Amendments from that antiquated document known as the Constitution. It is not uncommon to believe the will of the people is preeminent in our form of democracy; it is not. If it were the case there would be no need for a judicial branch of government. But the Declaration of Independence clearly states that those in leadership can only rule by “consent the governed.” So where is the line drawn that delineates between the consent of the governed and what Alexis de Tocqueville described in the 19th century as the “tyranny of the majority?” According to Thomas Jefferson, “The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.” But is it possible to go too far? Is the overt practice of Jim Crow segregation, something that certainly enjoyed the will of the people, the line of demarcation? How about denying women the right to vote until the 20th century? But the Supreme Court has not always followed the Constitution. In its history, it has rendered decisions that call into question if the justices had ever heard of the Constitution, let alone actually listened to the case presented before them. Judging by the recent poll numbers the will of the people is clearly not reflected in the Supreme Court’s recent Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. According to a Washington Post/ABC poll eight in 10 poll respondents say they oppose the high court's decision to allow unfettered corporate political spending, with 65 percent "strongly" opposed. Similar numbers advocate for congressional action to curb the ruling, and 72 percent are in favor of reinstating limits prior to the court’s ruling. Moreover, the polls also reflect strong bipartisan opposition to the court’s decision as Democrats (85 percent), Republicans (76 percent) and independents (81 percent) echo a rare unison stand. The 2000 presidential election illustrated how easily this line is blurred. There is the unmistakable fact that “the people,” admittedly by a small margin, preferred Vice President Al Gore to Gov. George W. Bush, but the Electoral College along with the Supreme Court reached very different conclusion. There is a certain comfort achieved in our culture being part of the majority. This fact contributes to the American middle class being the most ambiguously defined social class in our society. There are times when the will of the people is given too much credit. The simple fact that something has majority rule does not make it right; it just means a majority support it. If we’re not careful, the will of the people, depending on the issue, can lead to an unbridled arrogance, reminiscent of the Greek mythology character Icarus. Though warned by his father not to fly too close to the sun, Icarus was overcome by the giddiness of flying doing exactly what his father warned against. He lost his wings and fell to his death. Comforted by the majority, it is easy to seek the false refuge of numbers than to examine the legitimacy of one’s position. In doing so, we risk demoting the Constitution to a secondary consideration. There really is no answer to this unique divide that has burdened the country since its inception. Only if there were some type of democratic elixir that could help us to know when the will of the people has morphed into the tyranny of the majority. But if there were, there would be no need to self-reflect or learn from our past foibles, which ultimately serve to makes us a better people.
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