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Istheopinionofthemajority-ingovernmentorinanyothercircumstances-apoorguide?Theentireideaofdemocracycentersaroundmajorityrule,wherelawsandstandardsareputintoofthecitizenssupportit.However,ifpeopleconcentrateononlythemajorityineachcircumstance,theyoftenforgetthevoicesandrightsofminorities.Simplybecauseapersonisintheminorityofanopiniondoesnotmeanhecanbeignored,forinatruedemocracyallthecitizensareguaranteedthesamerights.Thusinsomecircumstancesstrictlyfollowingtheopinionsofthemajorityisapoorguidetodeterminingwhatactionstotake.ThedaysbeforeAmerica'sCivilWar,whenslaverywasprevalent,demonstratethatruleoftenfailstorespectpeople'smoralrightsandliberty.Themajorityofwhitepeopleintheearly1800'ssupportedslaverybecauseofthebenefitstheyreceivedfromtheblacks.Thus,thegovernmentreluctantlyallowedslaverytobelegalinAmerica,despitetheterriblesufferingsoftheslaves.Andbecausethegovernmentbelievedmajorityruled,theslaveslivedinsuchconditionsuntiltheEmancipationProclamationwaswrittenduringthebloodyCivilWar.Hadthegovernmentnotfollowedtheopinionsofpeople,slaverycouldhavebeenabolishedmuchsooner,andmuchsufferingcouldhavebeenavoided.Thus,inthiscircumstanceoffreedomvs.suppression,theopinionofthemajorityservedasapoorguidetofollowbytheU.S.government.Furthermore,theeffectsofmajorityruleimpactAmericanstoday,fortherearemanyunsolved,controversialissuessuchasabortion,stem-cellresearch,andhomosexualmarriages.Inthecaseofgayrights,themajorityofAmericansopposespeopleofthesamesexmarrying,andmostofthestates'lawsreflectthisopinion.However,ignoringthewishesofgaysandlesbiansbyenactingtheselawswillleavemanyofthemunhappybecausetheycannotlegallytietheknotwiththepersontheylove.TheU.S.Constitutiondeclaresthateveryonehastherighttopursuehappiness,butbybanninggaymarriages,somemaybebarredfromthehappinessofmarriage.Inaddition,manyopposestemcellresearchbecausetheyareangeredbythefactthatembryosarecreatedandthendestroyed.Onceagain,though,ifthegovernmentpassesalawbanningsuchresearch,theminoritymaysuffer.Stemcellresearchmaysavelivesbyusingthecellstospecializeinacertainarea.Thosewhowouldbenefitfromthediscoveriesofstemcellresearchmaydie.WecanlearnfromtheexperienceofthegreatinventorThomasAlvaEdisonthatsometimesaseriesofthingsisreallyaprecursortosuccess.ThevoluminouspersonalpapersofEdisonrevealthathisinventionstypicallydidnotspringtolifeinaflashofinspirationbutevolvedslowlyfrompreviousworks.