Saturday, April 23, 2011

Majority Doesn't Always Rule

Samuel Adams, a revolutionary superstar and the second president of this Great Nation, was very adept with words.  "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

The Revolutionaries in the late 1700s wanted one thing: Freedom from England.  I'm sure that Samuel Adams was originally in a very, very small minority when the idea first started to spread.  Just look at what happened then.  Our forefathers were irate at the way England was trying to take advantage of the colonies, so they (read: the minority) mobilized an entire people to fight for what they believed in: freedom.

Martin Luther King, Jr, and the other civil rights leaders of the 1960s were not known as a majority.  But they definitely set such "brush fires" in the minds of enough to gain equal rights.  The African Americans were irate.  They were tireless.  And they were keen on being recognized as Americans, with the same rights the Whites had.  So what happened?  Boycotts.  Outcries.  Deaths.  And now, color is not an issue (for the most part) in the United States.

LGBT populations all over the United States are now shouting to be recognized as equal citizens, to have equal rights, and to end discrimination against them.  Hispanics are experiencing discrimination simply for their skin color.  Sound familiar?  Sure, it may seem like a minority to some.  But just wait.  Brush fires are being set.  A new civil rights revolution is in the works.  And before you know it, the outcry will become the common cry.

...and liberty and justice for all...