Public Opinion and Government

Far too often one may seek to curry favor with public opinion as a means of circumventing written laws. We are a nation of laws that may have come from popular opinion, but maybe not.

Take a look at our laws and you will see many that would hardly stand up to current popular opinion. Examples may include tax increases, expenditure of public funds, restrictions on use of personal property, use of public facilities and government lands and so many more that if put to an opinion poll would be amended if not discarded.

More compelling, our republic is based on balance between responsibility and authority. When voters delegate their responsibility to elected officials, they also delegate equal authority. Voters retain final control through the ballot box.

Voters need to let their elected officials know of their opinions and then judge these politicians accordingly. Politicians must not only weigh the values of their own constituency, but the values of the rest of the political body they represent. This is why we have a federation, or a division of powers between national and state governments.

Finally, we must retain the balance between responsibility and authority demonstrated with elected officials and not give blatant authority to massive public opinion when there is no way to hold that mass accountable or responsible for that particular opinion, lest we submit all proposed laws and opinions to broad opinion polls before enactment.

Stay the course and try to learn more about how our government functions at all levels. To this end, look to your educational institutions to see if their instruction is clear, factual, comprehensive and not just politically correct for the moment.

HENRI L. TAPIE, Thousand Oaks