Jim Baird: “In fact, rules are the way a civilized society governs its conduct. We teach our children to play by the rules. We teach…”

“In fact, rules are the way a civilized society governs its conduct. We teach our children to play by the rules. We teach them fairness. Mr. Jefferson saw the rules as a way of protecting the views of the minority against the abuses which the wantonness of power is too often apt to suggest to large and successful majorities, protecting the views of the minority for the good of the democracy against the wantonness of power which suggests itself to the majority. This may not be a sexy or glamourous topic for the American people, but it has to do with how your government functions. It has to do with the free exchange of ideas. Jefferson did not say the purpose of the rules is to allow the majority party to work its will without resistance. He said the purpose of the rules is to also protect the minority opinion against the wantonness of power of the majority. For too long, for too long this body has witnessed the wantonness of power manifested in the rules exercised by the majority.”