1 PUBLIC OPINION IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. 2 What Is Public Opinion? Judging Public Opinion Public and private opinions Private Opinions: personal feelings

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PUBLIC OPINION

IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

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What Is Public Opinion?

Judging Public OpinionJudging Public Opinion

Public and private opinions • Private Opinions: personal

feelings you might express to

your family, neighbors, etc.

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Public and private opinions

• Public Opinion: the combination

of many individuals’ expressed feelings about gov’t and

political issues.

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What factors actually determine how much influence public opinion will have on government

actions and policies?

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• Are people personally

concerned?


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Judging Public OpinionJudging Public Opinion• How many people agree on the

issue?

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• How intensely do people

care?

?

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• How stable

are people’s

opinions?

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• How widespread

is an opinion?

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Ideology and Public OpinionIdeology and Public Opinion

Ideology: an organizedpattern of looking at the political world…

… a systematic set of ideasthat is used to justify a particular point of view.

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Radicals: favor rapid, funda-

mental change in the existing social, economic, or political order, and may be willing to resort to extreme methods -- even violence and revolution -- to accomplish their goals.

On the ideological far left

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RADICAL GROUPS Students for a Democratic Society and the Weather Underground (Weathermen)

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Black Panther Party Founders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale

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On the ideological left:

Liberals: believe the gov’t

should actively promote socialreform to increase individuals’well-being… tend to see change as good… but peaceful change within the existing system.


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In the ideological center: Moderates: people whose

attitudes & opinions on issuesare between right and left – between conservative and liberal… are usually tolerant of others’ opinions… & unlikely to hold extreme views.

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Ideology and Public Opinion

Ideology and Public Opinion

On the ideological right:

Conservatives: people whofavor the status quo -- keeping

things as they are… gov’t should stay out of people’s lives and business.

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Reactionaries: people who advocate a return to a previous state of affairs, often a social order or gov’t that existed earlier in history… and may go to extremes to reach their goals.


On the ideological far right: Reactionaries: people who

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Left and Right

Originated in French National

Assembly, 1789. Those who favored policies of the past were seated to right of speaker… and those who favored swift change were seated to his left.


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American Political Culture

American Political Culture

Many Factors Shape Political Opinions

American Political CultureAmerican Political Culture

Political culture: those elements related to a nation’s

gov’t and politics.…it affects our -- • support for democratic process • attitudes toward officials • sense of civic responsibility

• feelings toward political symbols

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Political symbols ...objects or expressions that

represent abstract ideas,

like “freedom,” “democracy,”

even “America” --

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Political symbols

serve 3 main functions… they help people recognize and

respond directly to political

ideas and objects

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Political symbols help people identify with

their own group or nation.

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Political symbols evoke emotions… and so

help to shape attitudes --

and feelings of pride, hope,

and respect.

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Four Types

of

Political Symbols


Personal Symbols

Verbal

Symbols

I pledge

allegiance

Visual

Symbols

Authority

Symbols

Political SocializationPolitical socialization:

the process by which citizens

acquire their sense of political

identity.

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Political SocializationPolitical Socialization

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Political SocializationPolitical Socialization

Four main agents of

political socialization:

Family SchoolPeers

Media

Documents

1 PUBLIC OPINION IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. 2 What Is Public Opinion? Judging Public Opinion Public and private opinions Private Opinions: personal feelings