Essay On DEMOCRACY AND PUBLIC OPINION

Definition and Role of Public Opinion

Democracy is that form of government in which the power is exercised by the people. In words of Lincoln, “Democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people.” In a demo cracy the supreme power lies with people or citizens exercising it directly or through the representatives elected by them for a definite period. In democracy the govenment depends on public opinion. Public opinion is the opinion which the people in general hold about the works of a government. If a govern ment does not work according to the public opinion, it has no chance of winning the next general election to come to power. So no government would like to ignore public opinion. Strong public opinion plays a very improtant role in capturing power and forming the government.

Formation and Shaping of Public Opinion

Public opinion is formed in many ways. Several agencies contribute to shaping public opinion. For a healthy public opinion, the citizens should know what is happening around them, in their country and in the world at large. A country’s government not only makes policies about internal problems but also has a foreign policy. Citizens must know about their government’s foreign policies as well. They must be able to judge whether a policy is good or bad. For example, take the use of nuclear weapons. Some people may feel having nuclear arms is good for a country, because it makes the country strong. Others may argue that such arms should not be made at all, because they are highly dangerous to human beings.

The Role of Media in influencing Public Opinion

In the modern world, citizens come to know of events through two main sources-the press and electronic media. The press through newspapers, magazines, journals, etc. carry the world’s news. It is through them that we come to know about the world wide news of the previous day, the next morning. Public opinion, therefore, depends heavily on the press. If newspa pers report events accurately, it helps in the formulation of a sound public opinion. Different people may come to different conclusions about the same event but first requirement is that the event must be reported correctly. That is why freedom of the press is very important.

Electronic Media in Shaping Public Opinion

In form ing popular opinion the electronic media comprising radio, television and cinema is significant. In India radio reaches more people than the newspapers. One does not buy a set of radio to listen. We see people crowding around paan shops, restau rant, tea stalls and community centres to hear the news. People in large number go to cinema. Common problems of society and shown in films. Cinema, a powerful agency can have a public opinion in either a healthy or a harmful direction.

Expression of Public Opinion with Responsibility

The sound, healthy and popular public opinion leads the demo cratic system successfully. The public opinion is not only to be formed but it should be expressed also. The press does not only shape the opinion but it also gives expression to the opin ions of all sections of the society in shape of ‘Letter to Editor’. No one can take the opinion of a public for granted. Demo cratic government gives a lot of freedom to the oridnary citizen. However, the citizens have to use freedom with respon sibility, restraint and discipline.

Vocabulary

Contribute- help, pay a share, Weapons- arms, Expression- description, Ignore- reject, discard, Event- incident.

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