Andrew PhanGirard, 4

10/6/15Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

Public opinions are opinions held by citizens that are openly expressed. Patterson explains that while a government decision does not necessarily conform to the public opinion, governments may make decisions that move towards the public opinion; he is saying that public opinions have some degree of influence on government decisions, but not as much as people may think. Patterson brings up a point to support this; he mentions that very rarely do most topics get a majority vote; in these cases, the government instead tries to satisfy elitist and pluralist groups that are more involved with the issue. For example, while most citizens would be uninterested in farmers’ subsidies, farmers would gladly vote to support further subsidizing. However, he does bring up the point that a well-organized poll can accurately predict election results or other political results for more broad issues. Patterson makes another point that citizens’ political opinions are often developed at a young age, and are held strongly throughout people’s lives. He supports this by describing early-life influences on children’s ideology. Schoolteachers describing the efforts of the Founding Fathers to raise this country would lead to children admiring America even more. This does not prevent them from changing later on, however; it just starts children off in America with a set mindset. Citizens also often organize themselves into groups based off of religion, race, gender, income, etc., where the entire group as a whole may support a general topic; for example, low-income citizens may band together to support increased welfare. He makes a final comment that while public opinion does not directly influence government decisions, it does constrain the government’s decisions to choices that are deemed reasonable by the citizens.

I agree with Patterson’s claim that the public opinion does not necessarily control government decisions. The government often acts as a regulating tool to keep the people in check, as much as the people keep the government in check. There is a balance between the people and the government so that while the people may argue for certain issues, the government complies to these desires but only to a certain extent; this is like a kind of negotiation. The government still has the final say, but must make a decision acceptable enough that the people do not rage.

I disagree with Patterson’s claim that people’s ideology can be stubborn to change. I believe that in this time and era, with how quickly issues can develop and change and resolve themselves, the citizens’ ideology is no longer able to be kept stubborn. People must accept change, because society is progressing at a fast pace at the present. The things taught by parents, schools, and peers will change over time, some ideals losing relevance as society changes. Also, I believe that people are only reluctant to accept change because they are reluctant to reject their opinion on an issue; this would seem as if they were admitting wrong. However, there is no wrong in holding an opinion.

Q: Where do you guys think America’s population stands as a majority? Are we more liberal? Conservative? Libertarian? Populist?Q: What groups do you believe people align themselves to over other groups?

Andrew PhanGirard, 4

10/6/15Q: How accurate do you believe political polls are, as only some Americans are surveyed?