The Power of Opinion

It is much easier to side with an opinion of a group then to take knowledge into your own hands to make a drastic decision that in foresight will effect you and the people around you. However, the reading suggests that knowledge and ignorance go hand in hand in a lot of ways.  This is an agreeable statement.  "Americans may know a little or a lot about any particular area, but they tend to have clear and coherent thoughts about the scope of what the national government should be doing"(p.81).  This statement is a clear definition of how ignorance and knowledge go hand in hand.  The people are mostly inclined to be aware of certain issues that the government need to improve on such as taxes, education, and employment.  However it is the details that Americans seem to lack on.

"We are all captives of the picture in our head - our belief that the world we have experienced is the world that really exists"(Walter Lipperman).  The public is captive to its opinion, especially by location.  "They [Americans] are anchored to particular experiences that come from how, and where, individuals and families live, work, and worship" (p.83).  For instance, if one town has a strong belief in one area of democracy, it is more likely that the majority of that town will not revolt against that ideal.  

"...Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition, have played a growing role in mobilizing public opinion" (p. 91).  Personal discovery has brought me to believe this point.  Taking it as a state-side quote, there is a major difference from the world as we know it in Denver to the way things work in Virginia.  Denver is full of liberal and open views from experience. Whereas in Virginia they ride on a more military and conservative point of view especially with race and sexuality.

So I ask you this: Is it better to have knowledge or personal opinion at this point? My answer would be personal opinion because the knowledge that seems to feed into our society today is influenced by what the government wants us to believe and the next campaign to win.