Quote 1
John Singer Sargent – Hercules & The Hydra- 1921
“Public Opinion, this invisible, intangible, omnipresent, despotic tyrant; this thousand-headed Hydra – the more dangerous for being composed of individual mediocrities…”
H. P. Blavatsky
The issue of public opinion is a complex one; can we rely on it? Public opinion refers to the general, popular view that is prevailing amongst the people. It is a collective agreement developed from personal, individual beliefs, hopes, fears, influences, prejudices and attitudes, mostly focussing on issues that affect society.
Public opinion plays a central role in democracy, yet many people do regard it as a ‘despotic tyrant.’ Why is this?
Social media networks and news outlets have considerable influence on what and how people think; as well as conveying the truth of what is happening in the world, they can spread false rumours, disinformation and ways of thinking that may adversely affect public opinion and create dangerous and riotous behaviour.
The public can be biased, lied to, prejudiced, manipulated, deceived and influenced by others’ unscrupulous attitudes and views in a kind of social, public, echo-chamber, where there is strong pressure to conform to the accepted view of the group.
“If forty million people say a foolish thing it does not become a wise one.”
W. Somerset Maugham
Quote 2
Claude Monet Reading – Pierre-Auguste Renoir. 1872. Wikioo
“To be independent of public opinion is the first formal condition of achieving anything great.”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Monet was the founder of the Impressionist movement, and he continued to develop his painting in a new way, despite the fact that he was mocked for his innovative style.
Monet. Impression, Sunrise. 1872. Wikimedia Commons
Vibrant colours and brilliant light suffused his work, the paint applied in quick brush strokes, giving a beautiful, shimmering ‘impression’ of a scene.
Monet. House of Parliament, London, Sun Breaking Through. 1904. Wikimedia Commons
This was a very different set of techniques from anything the public, or the art critics of the time had ever seen; they thought his work unfinished, imprecise and vague in terms of form, and they used the word ‘Impressionism’ as a term of disparagement.
This great artist ultimately changed the course of British art with his stunning work. If he had listened to public opinion, his wonderful paintings would never have existed.
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.”
Albert Einstein
Van Gogh had a similar view:
“Painting is a faith, and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion.”
Vincent Van Gogh
Quote 3
“In the modern world the intelligence of public opinion is the one indispensable condition for social progress.”
Charles William Eliot
Man Harkens to the Appeal of Conscience . 1910. – Frederick James Shields. Wikioo
“Public opinion is a second conscience.”
William R. Alger
Whilst it has its negative features, tending towards the inconsistent, the misinformed, the fickle and mercurial, sometimes public opinion can be an important, powerful, effective and valuable aspect of our democracy.
What the people have to say on many, many issues needs to be listened to and acknowledged by those in power. It can, indeed, be ‘a second conscience,’ an enlightening, different way of thinking, representing the ‘will of the people,’ hopefully those who are socially aware and who care about their fellow human beings.
“The world is a better place to live in because it contains human beings who will give up ease and security and stake their own lives in order to do what they themselves think worth doing.”
Walter Lippmann
Quote 4
Depression – Jock Mcfadyen. 1990. Wikioo
“Spreading the word about depression is my mission. I am working to build awareness, educate people about the symptoms, and change public opinion and individual attitudes about depression.”
Susan Polis Schutz
Changing public opinion is no mean feat, and, as the quotation points out, building awareness and educating the public is crucial. Challenging uninformed, rigid, set and biased views can be very difficult.
Depression is a good example of a mental illness that can be regarded a stigma by public opinion, something shameful, to be hidden and only whispered about. There are many more issues about which the public lack awareness and knowledge, resulting in skewed thinking, collective ignorance, prejudice… and being downright wrong.
‘Wrong’ : Gene Davis. 1982. Wikioo
Real change can be achieved through organising intense exposure of an issue in the media. Some people call on experts or celebrities to help; or they plan marches and protests, or engage in persuasive advertising that may produce fear, anger or guilt in those who see it.
Showing the public some solid evidence of the need to support the cause is also beneficial; it can help challenge rigid ideas and biased ways of thinking.
“The public relations counsel must deal with the fact that persons who have little knowledge of a subject almost invariably form definite and positive judgments upon that subject.”
Edward L. Bernays, Crystallizing Public Opinion
Presenting reliable and credible different new facts, the latest research, or recent developments, can be persuasive and may alter public opinion if communicated widely and convincingly.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
Quote 5
Ivar Arosenius – The Secret. 1905. Gandalf’s Gallery. Flickr.
“Public opinion contains all kinds of falsity and truth, but it takes a great man to find the truth in it. The great man of the age is the one who can put into words the will of his age, tell his age what its will is, and accomplish it. What he does is the heart and the essence of his age, he actualizes his age. The man who lacks sense enough to despise public opinion expressed in gossip will never do anything great.”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Applause – Erté Romain De Tirtoff.(1892-1990) Wikioo
“The court of public opinion should not matter, but we’re all human. And sometimes things sting. But I think you have to be willing to shake it off, and to not fall in love with the applause either.”
Erika Jayne
It can be really difficult not to experience pain when you hear negative public opinion is circulating about you in the form of malicious gossip or rumour. Some people can twist what they hear or see, or make erroneous assumptions that can spread like wildfire.
Untitled, One of a Group of Distorted Dolls. 1971. Clarence Schmidt. Wikioo.
“We reflect each other as mirrors do, but there is no need to look at mirrors that distort our reflection.”
Elena Y. Goldberg
Such people are not reflecting who we really are; they are merely putting their own negative feelings onto us. Whilst it is important to take note of the words of people we trust, and whilst we need others to reflect back to us who we are and how we are coming over, such biased public opinion is not intended to help us, only to satisfy the perverse needs of others.
“The real trouble begins when confirmation bias distorts your active pursuit of facts.”
David McRaney
If the gossip fits with their own rigidity and need to demean others and boost themselves, then it becomes highly enjoyable to the gossipers.
This is called confirmation bias, an erroneous and often conspiratorial thinking process, where people choose to believe what suits their own pre-conceived ideas, omitting any other facts that may weaken their convictions, regardless of the full evidence, the other side, the complete picture, or, indeed, the whole truth.
*******
In summary, it will be clear from the above quotations, that public opinion can have many aspects, good, bad or indifferent. The value- or otherwise- of public opinion depends on whether the views it includes are sound, socially aware and have emerged out of a genuine concern for society and humankind.
Jean Helion. Untitled.1957. Wikiart.
“Public opinion is a compound of folly, weakness, prejudice, wrong feeling, right feeling, obstinacy, and newspaper paragraphs.”
Robert Peel
© Linda Berman
waysofthinking.co.uk 