Swings of the Pendulum …

Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …

Allow me to mentally ramble.

Imagine yourself standing erect, arms held shoulder high and each appendage extended as far as you can.

Then imagine someone makes a a statement.

You hear that statement and are asked, “Do you believe that”?

Your right hand would represent total 100% “pro” while the left hand represents total 100% “con”.

Unless you have specific proof or knowledge on the topic, where would you rate it?

Remember how we used to rank songs on “American Bandstand”?

“I give it a 71. It has a nice beat and it’s easy to dance to” might be your response.

“It gets a 33 in my book. Sappy and no beat”.

Neither answer is totally supportive.

I would argue that neither response is totally correct or incorrect.

It is my belief that most things in life can be “measured” on my “extended arms” scale.

Which brings me to public opinion.

Also known as “popular opinion”, it is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention, relative to society.

It is the people’s views on matters affecting them.

Let’s break “public opinion” down further.

“Public” is of, or concerning the people as a whole.

“Opinion” is a view or judgement about something NOT NECESSARILY BASED ON FACTS (true statements) OR KNOWLEDGE.

It cannot be disproved or even contested in a rational or logical manner.

Hmm.

My Father had a somewhat crass definition of the word “opinion” and I’m sure each of you has heard it or a similar version.

One of the advantages an older guy like me might have is the experience of observing “public opinion” over the years.

It changes.

Sometimes due to facts.

Other times due to emotions.

That’s the problem with today’s electronic media.

“Facts” get spewed and thanks to “immediacy”, we can respond right now.

In the heat of the moment.

I’ve mentioned the story of President Abraham Lincoln writing a letter to Union General

George Meade shortly after the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg.

In the letter, Lincoln expressed his profound disappointment in Meade’s inability to pursue and destroy Robert E. Lee’s army.

Lincoln never sent the letter.

Endorsed on an envelope by Lincoln, “To Gen. Meade”.

Never sent or signed

It was a favorite coping mechanism of his.

We could all benefit by being a bit more like our 16th President.

Today, that letter, in the form of an e-mail or text would have been sent and the coping would be after-the-fact, too close to the heat of the moment.

A “legal” friend of mine years ago said we need to avoid the passion of doing something “right now” because we might create a “solution” that needs to be changed further down the road.

I think true public opinion fluctuates daily.

But I find it interesting when certain adult beverages or amusement parks or retail establishments see their business ledgers colored red.

That might be a more realistic gauge of “public opinion” than any media survey or poll.

My theory is the societal “pendulum” swings to one extreme before it comes back to the middle and then heads in the other direction.

But it’s not rapid like a big, old clock.

And while public opinion polls tossed at us daily by different sources might indicate otherwise, they are much more greatly affected by the “heat of the moment”.

I often hear folks express concern or unhappiness about “things” in general.

While there are times we need to strike while the iron is hot, more often than not, we’d be better off “chilling”.

In our rush to judgement, we usually don’t intend to do harm but many times, we react to incomplete or even scant information.

Tennis player Mary Pierce said, “Sometimes things aren’t clear right away. That’s when you need to be patient and persevere and see where things lead.”

Tic-toc.

Tic-toc.