"But the idea of America, the promise of America: this I clung to with a stubbornness that suprised even me … the America of pioneers heading west in search of a better life or immigrants landing on Ellis Island, propelled by a yearning for freedom. It was the America of Thomas Edison and the Wright brothers, making dreams take flight, and Jackie Robinson stealing home. It was Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday at the Village Vanguard and Johnny Cash at Folsom State Prison — all those misfits who took the scraps that others overlooked or discarded and made beauty no one had seen before. It was the America of Lincoln at Gettysburg and Jane Addams toiling in a Chicago settlement home, and weary GIs at Normandy, and Dr. King on the National Mall summoning courage in others and in himself. It was the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, crafted by flawed but brilliant thinkers who reasoned their way to a system at once sturdy and capable of change.”
–Barack Obama, A Promised Land
As if you probably didn’t already know by previous articles in this journal, my political philosophy and approach to governance were shaped in large part by the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville who identified five values he felt were essential to America’s success as a constitutional republic: liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism and laissez-faire. Thomas Jefferson was also a believer in Tocqueville’s values and applied those values into the Declaration of Independence when he wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Tocqueville warned about “the tyranny of the majority” in a democracy and that strong, independent systems would be needed to protect the rights of an unpopular minority that were terminated by such tyrannies.
This country and its democratic form of government championed by Tocqueville just emerged from a national administration bent on destroying most, if not all, of his values. Yet those values and democracy itself are still under attack by those challenging the results of the last presidential election and supporting the insurrectionists who attempted to overthrow the government on Jan. 6. That last administration practiced “the tyranny of the majority” by constructing figurative and literal border walls to separate that majority from minorities it labeled as unpopular and whose “unalienable rights” were denied to them by the administration in power.
It’s a strange paradox that the same election that saw that presidential administration tossed out of office also saw that “tyranny of the majority” enshrined in our local city council. Led by Trumpian council member Yvonne Flores-Cale, this council is hell-bent on constructing figurative border walls to protect the frightened and insecure majority in Kyle by trampling on the “ unalienable rights” of the unpopular minority.
The first example of this was the creation of sex ghettos in Kyle — small, remote enclaves in which persons wishing to move to Kyle who are listed in the state’s sex offender database will be required to live. Where Tocqueville, Jefferson, Obama and others who believed in the values as outlined in the Declaration of Independence — “that no person is my inferior or my better” — would argue that perhaps those values suggested that the creation of centers to counsel, treat and other help might be a more beneficial, a more humane, a more American approach, the Trumpian philosophy as espoused by Flores-Cale and others is “keep them away from us and then forget about them.”
Now she is championing an ordinance she is calling “Unlawful activities in (sic) public area” — i.e., activities she doesn’t like and doesn’t want to be exposed to — that is not only more Trumpian and less reflective of American values than the one creating the sex ghettos, but is also completely unnecessary because much of its emphasis is going be rendered redundant in the next few days when Gov. Gregg Abbott will sign House Bill 1925 that makes camping in an unapproved public place anywhere in the state a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, the exact same thing Flores-Cale’s ordinance would do.
At least the statewide ban, which would overrule anything the city passes, includes a bit of human kindness — a touch of Tocqueville’s values — completely absent in Flores-Cale’s version. HB 1925 will require local law enforcement officers to redirect homeless people to available local resources — such as shelters or nonprofit groups — “before or at the time” they issue a citation.
Flores-Cale’s ordinance, the first reading of which is on Tuesday’s council agenda, also includes a completely unenforceable prohibition against “aggressive confrontation” and another prohibiting “public begging,” which includes equally unenforceable sections that would outlaw using deceptive practices “in the course of soliciting a donation.” But these sections are not meant to be enforced. In fact, neither of these sections mention anything about enforcement. They are simply for show. This is nothing more than Flores-Cale pandering to “the tyranny of the majority.”
And, of course, the rest of the council will undoubtedly go along with her and pass this ordinance, because they, too, have fallen prey to “the tyranny of the majority.” They are solely interested in their own individual political fortunes and not at all with any of the values outlined in the Declaration of the Independence. In their eyes, only the majority who vote in Kyle “are endowed … with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Everybody else, those who belong to the unpopular minority, must be kept as far away as possible from that majority and must simply fend for themselves.
I believe Tocqueville’s two-volume Democracy in America should be required reading for any person who seeks public office in this country. I’m convinced not one single member of the Kyle City Council has read it. I fear that not one single member of the Kyle City Council has even heard of it.
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