majority rules
A representative democracy is one in which the people elect leaders entrusted to govern on their behalf. In theory this is the form of government we have in our state and nation. But our trust in the leadership of our elected officials is waning. This loss is multifaceted, not the least of which is a sharply divided electorate that guarantees that essentially half of all participating voters feel unrepresented. Throw in a few well placed scandals and the publication of a few too many back room deals and the public has little trust that their best interest is being guarded.
Two important ballot initiatives are before Missouri voters in November. One is a proposal to increase minimum wage and index the wage to the cost of living. Another is a proposed state constitutional amendment to ensure Missourians access to stem cell research and treatments. Although both initiatives appear to have broad public support, already my church mailbox is filling with flyers suggesting that stem cell research is tantamount to baby killing. The mud slinging is in full swing already on TV and the facts of both issues have been reduced to nonsensical sound bytes.
While I would like to believe that a vote from the people will result in the best decisions for our communal well being, I’m skeptical. And I’m not alone in my skepticism. No less esteemed a body than the Missouri State Legislature dared to go on record as saying that the voice of the people can be wrong. In 1999 Missourians defeated Proposition B, a proposal to legalize concealed handguns. After much acrimonious debate, our representatives in Jefferson City overruled the will of the people and we can now carry handguns in our purses. The will of the people was also heard in 2004 when and amendment was added to our state constitution defining who can (and thereby cannot) be legally married in our state. The will of the people may be strong, and may even be reflective of the majority interest, but does it protect the right of all members of our society?
Were I not a person of faith I might more quickly defer to the will of the people. But I am a person of faith, a person believing in a power beyond our knowing that created each one of our unique quirky personages, a person committed to the spirit that not only created us but also dared to call us good. Were I not a person of faith, of such quirky faith, I might defer to the will of the masses.
But I am a person of faith and I do believe in a communal responsibility to care for the most vulnerable of our society; the widows, the orphans, and the minority communities in a democracy. I am loathe to throw my hat to the back room deals, but I am also leery about this emerging form of democracy. “Majority rules” perpetually leaves the minority at the margins. And sadly the advent of media savvy sound bytes has only further eroded our sense of communal responsibility for the vulnerable. Given my unease in trusting either the career politician or the wisdom of the morning coffee klatch, I am in a quandary.
As a person of faith, I confess that our current political abyss is testing that faith. Maybe I need to trust that the God who dared to create such quirky beings will continue to live in and through us as we make our way to the ballot boxes in November. As a person of faith, I’m trying.
