The Majority vs. The Minority

“Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities “

Who said that quote?

No, don’t google it if you don’t know. You’ll know if you read the post.

It sounds like something Martin Luther King Jr. could have said in a speech about Civil Rights, or something one of the founding fathers could have said. It sounds like something you could hear in an Human Rights Council email about equality for GLBT people.

It sounds like something we could all agree with yes?

The majority has never been able to make the right decisions to protect the rights of the minority. I think that has been basically established in American and International history.

So why is there is a group demanding that the “99%” (and really, do you honestly think 99% of this country is behind this group?) be able to take away the rights of the “1%”?

You might ask which rights I’m talking about? Well in response I say that my pursuit of happiness is severely curtailed when people want to take more of my money than I keep (or close to it) as I get successful.

And then I’ll ask when marriage became a right? Yet most liberals and many conservatives, including myself, seem to think that all people have the right to be treated equally in those cases. That the ‘minority’ should not have their rights rights curtailed by the majority. Equal treatment under the law, we agree with that do we not?

So why can’t we agree on equal taxation?

Oh…as for the quote, I didn’t quote the entire thing. The full quote is:

“Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).

And as for who said it.

Well it wasn’t one of the founding fathers, or Martin Luther King Jr. or an email for the HRC.

It was Ayn Rand.

 

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About meredithancret

My name is Meredith and I’m a social media addict. I’m a political science major who basically eats, sleeps, and breathes politics…when I’m not watching NCIS, reading fantasy novels, or baking. Liberals seem to hate me for my very existence, it might have something to do with my being a conservative who is both female and gay…

Posted on 10/24/2011, in Ayn Rand, Capitalism, conservatives, democrats, gay rights, GLBT, goverment, liberals, occupy wallstreet, politics, republicans and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 9 Comments.

  1. But, but, this is a democracy and you have to obey the will of the mob… oh wait, no it’s not, it’s a republic.

  2. nicholasawesome

    I knew who said it before you told us T_T

  3. Freaking awesome quote!!!!

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