Time and Time Again

Prompt: Human Rights v. Majority Rule

If you look back through the years, you will clearly see we have had this dilemma almost as long as our country has been established. It has not always been about gays though. Majority rule has been a major "player" in our country. Our founding fathers did try to avoid it a little by adding in the electoral college. That way the majority would have a say but not the say. What the majority thinks is not always right. At one point in history the majority wanted African Americans not to be citizens or vote and at another point the majority did not want women to vote or play an active role in politics. They had to campaign and protest for their rights. Martin Luther King Jr. and Susan B. Anthony come to my mind as great leaders who fought against majority rule. We know now that this was not the right moral decision but at the time it was the majority decision. I know Americans are not trying to stop gay Americans from voting but without allowing African Americans or women to vote we would never have had our laws concerning discrimination.

In our country employers or colleges or any other public place are not allowed to discriminate against race or gender. So why should they be allowed to discriminate against sexuality? They shouldn't. Many people do though. If the sexuality of somebody was to be public information then employers would still discriminate even though they are not allowed by law to discriminate. They would just do it secretly and come up with another excuse to why that person should not be hired. If by chance an employer does not discriminate then the public does. I know the example many people use is a teacher and I think this is a perfect example. Simply because a teacher has direct contact with a child. Parents actually rely on a teacher to help instill morals and values into their child but for some reason parents usually think a gay man or woman can not instill those same morals and values. I had a middle school teacher that was gay and I learned so much from him. He taught language and I can still quote stuff he taught us. I did not know at the time he was gay. I learned that in high school. But I look back and he was a great teacher because he was so opened minded.

Growing up in the south, I have seen quite a bit of discrimination and unfortunately frequently it has been toward homosexuals. I know all discrimination is wrong but unfortunately I am not always in the majority rule.