Problems in American Democracy

by Thames Williamson

479. PUBLIC OPINION AND LAW.—It is characteristic of the human mind that we perceive concrete and tangible things more easily than we understand abstract and intangible forces. Law is a definite, concrete, almost tangible thing; we perceive its outlines, recognize its various forms, and understand its nature and significance. But it is less easy to understand that law may be only a symptom of Public Opinion, only the concrete expression of intangible community sentiment. There is an interaction between law and Public Opinion, but the latter is the more fundamental and the more powerful. Public Opinion which is vigorous and well-organized may force the enactment of law; on the other hand, a law which runs counter to the prevailing state of Public Opinion may cease to be effective, because individuals will not co÷perate in enforcing it. Law half leads, half follows Public Opinion, and when legislators are skilled in discerning and influencing the mental attitudes of the people, law and Public Opinion pretty well keep pace with one another.

480. PUBLIC OPINION IN A DEMOCRACY.—The beliefs and opinions of the masses have been an important force even in the most absolute of monarchies; in representative democracies Public Opinion is even more important. Under a democratic form of government the attitude of the masses tends to be one of inquiry, self-confidence, and self- expression upon public questions. Lord Bryce has pointed out that because democracy permits and encourages freedom of discussion, Public Opinion in a country like the United States becomes much more powerful than in less democratic countries.

And not only is Public Opinion more powerful in a democracy, but democracy is impossible without the regular exercise of a well- informed and sensible opinion by the majority of its citizens. Democracy emphasizes government by the people rather than government of the people. Thus if genuine democracy is to be developed and sustained, the people must cultivate an attitude of constant vigilance against civic indifference. Nominations and elections are focal periods in government, but government is a continuous obligation which requires constant rather than intermittent attention. Where civic interest is neither strong nor consistent, the virtues of democracy may be diffused in blind and leaderless wanderings.

481. DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC OPINION.—Even though never definitely focused or expressed, the vague beliefs, fancies, and prejudices of individuals may influence public affairs by causing community leaders to feel that "the people" will or will not tolerate a contemplated line of action.

But the influence exerted will be much greater if the opinions of the individual are definite, and if there is some method of clarifying, co÷rdinating and expressing the opinions of groups of individuals upon a given subject. If the opinions of the individual are to be definite and concrete, he must habitually come in contact with forceful persons and institutions; if the opinions of various individuals are to be co÷rdinated and expressed there must be either physical contiguity among people, or else adequate means of transportation and communication.

We may now consider a few of the forces which serve to make definite and to organize the opinions of individuals.

482. THE HOME.—Certainly no institution exerts a more powerful influence upon the beliefs and opinions of the individual than the home. Our basic ideals and traditions pass from generation to generation through the continuity of the family life. During the plastic and impressionable period of infancy the child is constantly under the influence of the parents. At first fashioned largely by the parents, the beliefs and sentiments of the growing child are later modified by contact with other family members. When children go out to the school, the church or the workshop, beliefs and attitudes encountered outside the home are weighed in the light of family teachings. When young men and young women make homes of their own, they in turn imprint upon their children a complex of tradition and opinion which is the compromise result of their own family training, modified by influences later encountered outside the family circle.

483. THE SCHOOL.—Supplementing, and in some respects supplanting, the influence of the home is the influence of the school. While still in the plastic stage the child is given over to the moulding influences of teacher and fellow-students. New contacts are made, new opinions are encountered, new avenues of thought and action are opened to the young and growing mind. Of recent years the tendency of the school to identify itself more closely with the practical life of the community is increasing the power and influence of that institution. The school is proving a genuine means of transition between the relatively localized influence of the home and the more widely diffused influences of the community.

484. THE CHURCH.—Closely related to the school as a determinant of opinion is the church. In the early stages of social development the home was equally the center of intellectual and religious life, but in recent times the church and the school have become separate, though related, institutions. The child spends more time in school than in the company of religious instructors other than his parents, but affiliation with the church often continues throughout the life of the individual, while the average child leaves school at a relatively early age. From the standpoint of Public Opinion, the primary importance of the church is that it exerts a powerful influence upon the ideals and conduct of both young and old. And as in the case of the school, this influence is being deepened by the increasingly close connection between the church and the practical life of the community.

485. THE THEATER.—The theatre has always been a vital influence in man's aesthetic and emotional life. Drama, opera, comedy, and burlesque are variant forms, but they are alike in that they influence the audience. In the last decade the moving picture has greatly increased the power and influence of the theatre. The low price of the moving picture brings the theatre to millions who formerly were excluded from any appreciable degree of theatrical entertainment. The daily moving picture attendance of ten million people, the stimulating effect of music, the strong emotional appeal, the tender age of many of the audience, and the growing use of the moving picture as propaganda, all combine to make the film a powerful factor in the formation of Public Opinion.