Editor, Ceres Courier,

Many good-hearted Americans want to unite America once again. But the way to unity in a democracy is not to force uniform policy on the entire nation, like we are trying to do now. The solution is to agree on how policy making is to be done on the local level. That solution is by majority rule.  

Under this system, there can be wide policy differences from one locality to another, like on abortion, education curriculum, prostitution, gambling, birth control, degree of state responsibility for health care, even carbon consumption and water purity.  

A limited number of policy issues are to be decided on the national level, like international trade and national defense. Our Constitution says the national government must guarantee basic human rights in each state like speech, religion, press, assembly, voting, etc., but it does not require the government to make public policy the same everywhere. 

In democracies, all that is needed is an indication of the majority view on the local level. The minority then has to go along with the majority decision. The minority is destined to be disappointed in some policy areas, but successful in other policy areas. The key for a democracy is that both the majority and the minority can always have a say. In an aristocracy or a monarchy, only the rich or only the king has a say, so democracy is definitely a step forward. 

Kimball Shinkoskey 

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