The Role of Communication in Government
As Lowi and Ginsburg have illustrated, public opinion is not a simple concept. What public opinion is, and has become, is a jigsaw puzzle comprising nationalism, poll taking, and the uses that politicians put to these ideas. It is somewhat surprising to learn of the concerted government effort to nationalize the American population in the 19th century. In order to promote a sense of national unity, with certain essential ideas continuing to dominate everyday life, an enforced nationalism makes sense. Having a vast population conversant in one language, and the efforts to bridge geographic gulfs with roads, telegraphs, and railroads certainly had the desired effect (Lowi & Ginsburg 1994). However, it may be that these efforts, along with the drive toward public literacy, were along the lines of grass roots efforts, and not entirely federally motivated. Regardless, public opinion in America reflects some widely held ideals, for the most part promoted by the efforts in the past to educate the masses in English, along the lines of Western European accepted norms.
Within what is commonly referred to today, as the idea market, are the widely held ideals of equality of opportunity, individual freedoms, and democracy as a way of life. How these values are portrayed or perceived by the public usually drives the efforts of politicians to capture our attention, garner our support, and tap a constituent will to alter or change the way the Federal government does business. If the voting public sees itself as wanting to capture a part of the elusive American dream, including equality, freedom, and a democrative lifestyle, then the only differences in public opinion, are those that define a different means by which to achieve the ends.
On the political end of things, a conservative might insist that less is more, in terms of the government being involved in the everyday pursuit of cultural val...