Majority Rule
Minority rights have always been an extremely popular topic of discussion in the United States. However, the common definition of a minority has considerably changed since the writing of the Constitution. The term “minority” has grown from referring to members of the minority political party to include members of multiple ethnic, religious, and gender based groups. The United States Constitution clearly explains that majority rights and minority rights are equally important, and neither may violate the rights of the other party. These laws help to ensure that members of the majority and the minority parties will be punished accordingly should they choose to violate one another’s constitutional rights.
The majority, which is the party containing over 50 percent of voters, has the right to elect whomever they feel best portrays their opinions and beliefs. This is one example of the rights entitled to members of the majority party. However, I do not feel that these rights “trump” the rights of the minority party, or vice versa. If that were the case, the majority party would be aloud to violate the rights of minorities without the fear of legal punishment and public humiliation. In my opinion, both groups have equal rights under the law and political equality. This is backed by history, with political parties frequently losing positions of power during major elections.
The government has many policies in place to prevent the violation of majority and minority rights. President George W. Bush enacted the US Patriot Act of 2001 and the National Homeland Security Act to help protect the rights of the majority. The US Patriot Act was created with intentions of allowing the government more access to private information that might lead to the discovery of terrorist groups residing in the United States. The US Patriot Act also influenced the creation of the National Homeland Security Act, which developed the Department of Homeland Security...