Question

Was Franklin Roosevelt right when he said, “A Government can be no better than the public opinion that sustains it.” why or why not?

Answer 1

American public is composed of millions of people who have different attitudes, backgrounds, and interests. The Public opinion is defined as the sum total of the complex opinion collection by many people on public arena issues such as health care, taxes, clear air legislation, social security and unemployment. These are the perspectives that people hold in regard to the officials, issues, candidates, and policies. Since it is far from being a single, unified entity thus leads to a complex combination of individual beliefs, values, and attitudes for the democratic government. In a democracy, the public can be the source and guide of government authority, thus may control the direction of policy. Moreover history reveals that within the United States there is a clear linkage between public opinion and government action. The public opinion changes tend to be followed by parallel public policy changes, especially when an overwhelming number of people categorise the issue to be vital. Since politicians want to be re-elected to office thus give close attention to public opinion. Thus Franklin Roosevelt statement was right in my opinion.