PRE ASSESSMENT: Briefly respond to the pre-assessment questions using your current

knowledge.

1. What is public opinion and what factors shape public opinion? What does public opinion
tell us about American values and beliefs? What is the relationship between public opinion
and government policies?
A public opinion is the view which is prevalent among the public. The different

environmental factors like the socio-economic and political shape the public opinion. It tells us

that the public opinion is diverse most especially in a free country like the United States.

Meanwhile, government policies are formulated through public opinion as the latter serves as

basis for the same.

2. What is the role of the news media in providing political information? How do politicians
and others try to shape the news? How does the news media influence public opinion and
politics and what role do they play in setting the political agenda?
Theres no more efficient outlet for the political information than the news media because

they are the ones who have access to the insiders. Information from the internet may be present

but its integrity is questionable as anyone may spread rumors. Politicians oftentimes lobby on

news providers and sometimes bribery plays a major role to shape the news in their favor. Some

of the news media play a major role in the campaign due to the spread of their own opinion

regarding the topic. Unfortunately, the general public may be swayed easily..

3. How do people participate in the political process? What is voter turnout? What factors
affect voter turnout? List and describe at least two of these factors. What role do political
parties play in voting and elections?
People participate in the political process by participating in campaign and elections.

Voicing out opinion is another way of participation. A voter turnout is the number of the

individuals who participated in the elections out of all the registered. Public opinion itself affect
the voter turnout as well as other environmental factors. Political parties handle the campaign of

the candidates in the election.

4. Is interest group activity democratic? Why or why not? What is it about interest group
activity that would make it undemocratic? Give examples.
Yes, an interest group activity is democratic because of the fact that it manifests free

speech and free association. These groups hold strong political opinions and this is in itself an

evidence of democracy.
Discussion
The social media nowadays play a major role in the molding of the public opinion

because every member of the society have the capability to access these networks. Moreover,

everyone is given the chance to voice out their own political opinion and start a debate without

much expense. That is why the social media is now considered as one of the most powerful

social institutions that could sway the public opinion and political beliefs due to the rapid spread

of the trending topics which are available. However, the same advantage of accessibility to the

political information in the social media poses numerous disadvantages and risks to the integrity

of the information. Since anyone may post their opinions, it may come from an unreliable source

who may mislead the general public (James, 2014).

It is true that the internet provides less depth of information than other sources or medium

for political communication. However, the discussion of the politics in the internet particularly in

the social media is more interactive and accessible that everyone can participate. Of course,

everyone is entitled to his own political opinion and he may voice it out whenever he wanted to.

However, the political opinion may be wrong or misleading that it may affect other individuals

who have read the posts and online articles. It seems to be a battle between quality and quantity

that the former is attained on academic discussion since there will be great depth in the

discussions and organized debates on politics while the latter is attained through the social media

since more people will be able to participate. Nevertheless, it increases the interests in politics

but it does not necessary help increase political knowledge. As mentioned above, internet

information regarding politics is very influential to the overall point of view of the individuals

but its lack of integrity causes a great damage to the public opinion.
How important is public opinion to government decision-making? What impact, if any,
does public opinion have on politicians and how they make decisions?

The public opinion is the general viewpoint of the society as a whole. This means that

majority, if not all, members of the general public share the same point of view regarding

political issues. These political issues may include environmental, social welfare, and foreign

policy of the government that the general public has its own perspective which does not

necessarily be an implication in the government processes. For example, prior to the declaration

of a war, the United States of America asks its citizens first before engaging in such kind of

foreign conflict which is tantamount to the general interest. It must not be misconstrued as

something that the government directly asks each individuals about their opinion or through an

election. This is done by the representatives who represent the people or their constituents in the

legislative tribunal. Hence, their will is manifested by the representatives in the congress. This is

due to the fact that the framework of the US democracy is built on the idea that it is the

government of the people and their will must be granted (ONeil, 2010).

Meanwhile, another example of public opinion regarding a significant social issue is the

legalization of same-sex marriage. It must be noted how states where the people are more

liberated and pro-change like New York allow such kind of legalization of the same sex marriage

since the public opinion is more tolerant. The case is different for less tolerant to social change

and Christian dominated state of Texas where the legalization of the same sex marriage did not

even reached consideration by its legislative body.

Politicians are individuals who have self-interests and it is very important for them to

gain support. One of the ways of gaining support from the general public is by swaying to the

public opinion. Most politicians simply agree to the popular viewpoint despite having own
perspective very different from the general public. This is very common on democratic states

whereas the leaders are voted by the majority of the general public. By majority, this means that

the individuals with most numbers will dictate the outcome.

In the contemporary US society, the public opinion are not suppressed and therefore

everyone respects the right of another to free speech. That is why there are always separate

public opinion that politicians and the governments sway into. For example, the republicans have

a consensus point of view while democrats always have the same.

Reference

James, P. (2014). Globalization and Politics, Vol. 4: Political Philosophies of the Global.

London: Sage Publications.

O'Neil, P.H. (2010). Essentials of Comparative Politics (3rd Ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.