Public Opinion

I am going to respond to Liz's blog with an opposite set of ideas. First, I would like to make the argument that there are many United States citizens who believe that in general, the US is ruled by the people and that decisions are made to better the lives of the people. It is not possible to represent every single person and each specific belief. The point is that there will always be two sides to the situation, those who agree and those who don't.

As we have been discussing in class, security is perhaps the most important goal for sovereign states. Many examples show that the need for security will over-rule the will of the people. Yet, doesn't the overall will of the people consist of a security wish?? We want to be sure that terrorists will not attack the United States and we want security against internal and external threats, so is this not working for the good of the people???

The government and foreign policy do not always look past the will of the people. There are numerous accounts when protests and letters written to the government have changed an outcome. This is how the people can be represented. Our government system also gives a choice to each citizen to elect the politician that will best represent the people.

To respond to the question, I believe that it is not enough to only take public opinion as a concern and as the main grounds for acting. Often, the public does not know what the higher officials are dealing with, and many times, we have no idea what is happening in a foreign country. Remember that we only hear about the most popular and explosive topics and that there is much more that has not been brought to our attention. It is essential that politicians and policy makers take into account the public opinion, but there also is a separation between what the people should be able to influence, and what needs a more discussion among professionals.