I.ve been thinking a lot about majorities these days, or at least these past few minutes. I’m at the marina in Newport, in the cockpit of Other Woman, and the majority of my beer is gone. Luckily, my laptop is running on shore power, because the majority of my battery is gone as well.

           Did I mention the majority of my beer is gone?

           The majority of the boats in the harbor are powerboats, accept for the nearby slips, which are all sails – and salty.

           Why have we put such a premium on majorities? Why is it assumed that if most people dig it, it must be right?

           Our president (who I’m certain would choose a power boat over a sail boat, and I could go into my thoughts on power boaters, but the majority of my beer is gone, so I imagine I should refrain.)

           Once more: Our president says the majority of Iraqis want American troops there. He also attempts to point to a majority who counter war protester Cindy Sheehan’s views, and a group calling itself, “You don’t speak for me, Cindy,” is marching on the Sheehan camp, and seems to have three times the numbers Sheehan has.

           Majority.

           Richard Nixon spoke of the “silent majority” who supported the war in Vietnam.

           If Nixon and Bush and their ilk had lived during the time of the American Revolution, would they have taken the same tack? And if they had any political sway, would they have opposed the revolution? Probably so.

           During the American Revolution, the majority of colonists did not want to rebel against Britain. It was a small group who disagreed with the Crown. If the revolution were put to a vote, if the majority ruled, it is likely our nation would have never been born.

           The Majority rule is the vice of little minds. It is lazy. The majority of boaters run motors, because motors are easy and require little thought. The majority of shoppers go to Wal-Mart, because Wal-Mart is easy, and requires little thought. The majority of citizens vote for easy, thoughtless ideas.

          The majority. The common. The mediocre. Is that what our nation has become?