As we can see there are many instances of the minority and the majority clashing with one another, this leads to the question of why we need to balance the rights of the majority and the minority. One of the basic ideas of democracy is that of majority rule which is an idea that says the side with the most support or votes wins, this side is the majority (“Majority Rule/Minority Rights,” n.d.). Yet there is also another group of people the minority, usually the minority is large in size but not larger than the other side, the majority, this means that the minority has a tendency to be suppressed by the majority. This worry brings up the issue of trying to prevent the majority from having supreme power which would lead to many conflicts between the minority and majority as the majority tries to control the minority (“Majority Rule/Minority Rights,” n.d.). So, in order to prevent this and to support an equal society the government will usually enact bills of rights to protect the rights of the majority while trying to limit the impact these laws may have on the majority (“Majority Rule/Minority Rights,” n.d.). These rights will usually try to prevent discrimination of certain groups and individuals based in certain traits including skin colour, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity (“Majority Rule/Minority Rights,” n.d.). It is important that we try to support the minority while still accepting the power and rights of the majority as supporting one side more than the other can only lead to more conflicts.
Source
Majority Rule/Minority Rights: Essential Principles. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from http://democracyweb.org/node/36