Actor Educator Psychologist Historian

So I have been keeping tabs on the gay marriage debates that have been happening all over the country. However I have been keeping a particularly close eye on the debate in my home state of New Hampshire. 

As of 12:30 today the needed amendment passed the state Senate and is now going to the House of Representatives where it failed last time by two votes. If this amendment passes the governor has promised to sign it into law. 

Now in keeping up with this I have been keeping tabs on WMUR’s coverage of the story. 

This brings me to what is really eating at me: user comments. Please do not get me wrong, I think that the average reader with a computer, keyboard, and a few extra moments in their day should be able to join in on the discussion. This is one of the great advances of our modern age, it is opening up our big social debates to everyone, not just a few select officials.

However I think it is starting to expose our educational system’s failures.  From what I have read it leads me to think that very few people know how our government is supposed to work. We, as voters, elect people to represent us in the house and senate, these people vote on issues so that the rest of us can go about our daily lives. We also have a president on the national level, and governors on the state level, as well as court systems. These are all in place to make sure that no one branch gets too much power and to enforce and interpret the laws. 

Sounds like 6th grade doesn’t it? Well I think a few people skipped some history and civics lessons. This democracy that we have is NOT mob rule, it is not a simple majority of voters gets to decide every issue. We vote for/hire people to do these things for us and every few years we get to rethink this choice. There are mechanisms in place for the people to kick out officials, to get their voices heard, and in some cases they can call for a referendum.

What is going on on WMUR’s website is an example of people’s ignorance showing: there are people calling for the voters to decide on the issue, that this is not what the people want, and that the legislature is wasting their time with this when we have bigger issues. 50 years ago Brown v. Board is not what the majority wanted, women’s suffrage was not what the majority wanted, interracial marriage is not what the majority wanted. These were all civil rights issues, and as the past has shown us the majority is very bad at civil rights issues. 

There is a reason we have a government, that government is elected by the people, it is of the people, and it is for ALL of the people. Whether or not you voted for the candidate who won, that person still represents you. These elected bodies are there to look out for the rights and liberties of all the citizens, not just the majority. 

This is something that I assumed was taught in our school system, that the government is for EVERYONE not just the majority, not just the minority, but everyone. To see these people debate with so little understanding of the function and purpose of our government makes me want to scream.