MAJORITIES AND ETHICS

What do numbers have to do with conscience?

Martin Niemller, a Lutheran clergyman in Germany during the Nazi rise to power, wrote the following.

First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist

And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me

And American writer Mark Twain warned, "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."

These approaches to majorities aren't news. Your parents probably warned you when you were young to follow your conscience, not the crowd.

So, the United States is a democratic republic (representative democracy). In a democracy, what is the role of a majority group in regard to any related minority group? Is it to defeat? To protect? To maintain dialogue? Something else? Why?

Please do a little research to support your points. Identify a situation in American society or politics today that concerns at least one majority group and at least one minority group. How does this situation illustrate, positively or negatively, the role of a majority group in regard to any related minority group as you see it? Links are great, and remember to explain why you're choosing what you're choosing!