January 6, 2022
Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
Re: “We’re Not a Real Democracy. That’s Why Jan. 6 Happened.” (Column by Jedediah Britton-Purdy, January 6, 2022)
To the Editor:
Contrary to Professor Jedidiah Britton-Purdy, the very purpose of the Constitution is to place guard rails on simple majority rule. The latter has begotten such oppressions as a century of Jim Crow, compulsory sterilization of the alleged feebleminded, the criminalization of free speech, a war against Mormonism, odious discrimination against Asian or Muslim immigrants or citizens, exclusion or punishment based on sexual orientation, and undue burdens on a woman’s right to choose. Athenian Democracy sentenced Socrates to death for critical thinking. Justice Robert Jackson explained in the famous flag salute case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, “One's right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.”
Sincerely,
Bruce Fein, associate deputy attorney general under President Reagan and author of “Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy
300 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20001
Phone: 202-465-8728; 703-963-4968
Email: bruce@feinpoints.com