|
JUNE
5th, 2006 |
OF
HORSES AND RELIGION
(Continued
from NEWSCENTER)
I would like to address
a couple of misconceptions I frequently read in the Letters to the
Editor section of the [Lexington]
Herald-Leader. The first is the assumption that everyone who lives
in this state is enamored of horses and the horse industry.
A great many of us could care less about horse breeding and racing,
which seems the province of the wealthy and lacks any
relevance to contemporary life. Certainly these animals were of
great common interest when they provided the primary mode
of travel for most people, but today they are an anachronism, of
interest primarily to those who devote their time and energy
(and money!) to them either as a hobby or profession.
The second common misconception I frequently read involves the perceived
persecution of those who would like to promote
their religious views to the exclusion of all others in the public
arena. This is not a case of the rights of the majority being taken
away, as is claimed almost daily, but rather a protection against
discrimination for those outside the majority. This always reminds
me of the spurious claim by smokers that their right to smoke anywhere
supercedes the right of the rest of us to breathe clean air.
Both positions smack of the "tyranny of the masses," which
is always fraught with peril. After all, history is full of examples
of discrimination (and worse) that were popular at the time, but
are now considered abhorrent. Nazism in Germany, slavery and
Jim Crow laws in this country and the historic (and contemporary,
in many parts of the world) oppression of women come
immediately to mind. While I am by no means comparing those who
feel their right to religious expression is being threatened to
these extreme examples, we would all do well to consider the rights
and feelings of those who may not be members of our social,
racial or religious majority before we insist on imposing our collective
will on everyone. |
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