We often assume that democracy is the will of the majority of people that government must follow. I believed it too until I read an article in a newspaper where an author criticized the government of a conservative Muslim country that had passed some laws that limited the individual rights of minorities. Many people in that country supported the laws defending that in a democratic country, the will of the majority of people must be respected. The author responded that a democratic country where the government has to respect individual rights and minorities as well.
We see in the US when any laws are passed, may not be implemented if the laws violate fundamental individual rights. For example, the majority of people in Texas support a law that prohibits building more Mosques. That law will be declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court because it violates fundamental individual rights. The fundamental individual rights are freedom of religion, speech, going to school, gender equality, etc. In Egypt, according to a 2010 Pew Global Survey, 84% of Egyptians supported the death penalty for those people leaving Islam and whippings, cutting off hands for thefts and robbery, and even stone to death for adultery crimes. Arab Spring happened in Egypt, and Egyptians toppled dictator Mubarak after bloody battles in the streets. I was happy for the Egyptians, but the former Democratic Egyptian Morsi was supported by conservative groups and introduced some bills that violated the fundamental of individual rights and minorities. The Egyptian military saw a danger, so they toppled Morsi and suppressed his supporters. Now the Egyptians live under a government similar to Mubarak’s government. I watched many documentaries where the citizens lived under authoritarian governments. I saw the citizens’ individual rights limited, but I read a comment from a viewer explaining that they should be living under authoritarian governments because they even didn’t give freedom to their grandmothers, mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters, how could they ask for freedom from strangers? I live in the US, and I see freedom starting from the family level where every member respects other family members’ fundamental individual rights.
I live in the US, I see how freedom works. I don’t criticize other cultures or a particular religion. I live in the US, I respect different cultures and religions. I think a country can have real freedom when at the family level has freedom. Some cultures or religions hamper fundamental individual rights, we must change them before we can have real freedom. My main point in this post is that the will of the majority of people may not be right when that will violate the fundamental individual rights and minorities. Please leave any comments and share my blog.