by David Safier
In Arizona and around the country, polls have indicated SB1070 is viewed favorably. That, according to supporters, means people against the law should shut the hell up, and legislators who dislike the bill are going against the will of the people.
That notion ignores the fact that in the history of this country, majorities have supported slavery, then segregation. That didn't make either right. Our democracy is not supposed to be a tyranny of the majority.
It also ignores George Bush's response when he was told something he was doing went against popular sentiment. He puffed out his chest and said, "I don't govern by the polls." I guess that was alright if Bush did it. Made him seem kinda manly.
But let's give momentary credence to the idea that public opinion should be reflected in government policy.
Here's a poll that says, among the supporters of SB1070, 80% of them "also support comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented."
The poll was sponsored by America’s Voice Education Fund and conducted by Lake Research Partners and Public Opinion Strategies. I don't know either group, and I won't speak to the accuracy of the polling. But this is consistent with polling I've read elsewhere. The majority of people in this country don't want to round 'em up and ship 'em out. They want reasonable, comprehensive immigration reform.
And who is fighting against the will of the people when it comes to immigration reform? It's the people banging the populist/nativist drum for SB1070 the loudest.
It's hypocritical to choose to pay attention to only one result from public opinion polling and say, "I'm just doing what the people want."
Here's what the article says are some of the results from the poll:
- Three out of five voters nationwide do indeed support the Arizona law. Not surprisingly, a majority of Latino voters oppose the law.
- At the same time, four out of five of the voters who support the Arizona law also support comprehensive immigration reform with a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants. Only one out of five support deportation as the preferred policy option when asked what to do about the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.
- In addition, strong majorities believe that illegal immigration is a national problem, prefer comprehensive reform to Arizona-style laws in their state, and want the problem of illegal immigration acted on now.
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I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. All of us ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated, but this is not the case.
I know the proponents of this law say that the majority approves of this law, but the majority is not always right. Would women or non-whites have the vote if we listen to the majority of the day, would the non-whites have equal rights (and equal access to churches, housing, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, schools, colleges and yes water fountains) if we listen to the majority of the day? We all know the answer, a resounding, NO!
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics and do what is right, not what is just popular with the majority. Some men comprehend discrimination by never have experiencing it in their lives, but the majority will only understand after it happens to them.