To the editor:
I am concerned about Mark Lozier’s recent editorial (“Taking a stand,” April 27, A6). I do not see the situation as “minority rules” but as one of the majority respecting the rights of the minority. A government that does not respect the rights of the minority is tyranny, and our Founding Fathers wrote our Constitution with protections for the minorities to avoid this.
I checked the archives of news articles to verify what occurred: an offer was made to donate $50,000 to the Greenfield-Central High School artificial turf project in return for “#blesstheworld” being painted on the public school football field. The board, which reviews donations more than $1,000, tabled the matter after noting a potential conflict, and the donor(s) withdrew the offer before the board could consider it at the next meeting.
I fail to see how this is “minority ruling the majority.” Supporters are free to paint “#blesstheworld” on their own lawns and can carry or wear letters to spell out “#blesstheworld” at the football games. Christians are not being oppressed by this decision any more than they are when someone says “happy holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.”
That said, I wish to draw attention to my main concern about this editorial: It highlights the growing divisiveness in our country which seems to focus on winners and losers.
Those of us who win an election take this as an opportunity to rule over those in the minority and impose our desires upon others; while our elected representatives serve the base that elected them rather than everyone that they are supposed to be representing.
The result is often laws that are obviously unconstitutional that our representatives then propose to fix by appointing judges that will interpret the law/constitution in ways that would grieve our Founding Fathers.
I respectfully suggest that in this country, neither majority nor minority should rule. Instead, we should all respect the equal rights of everyone. “Politically correct” is, after all, just another way of saying, “Don’t be a jerk.”
Linda Dunn
Greenfield
