Publicopinion

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Public opinion
In a government where democracy prevails such as in America, public opinion is expected to play a significant role in defining the shape of politics. Public opinion is the ability of the citizens to express their feelings and ideas without facing the consequences freely. Sharing of ideas is allowed to take place even in online forums, through voting or opinion polls. Party leaders are often reminded of the benefit of considering public opinion in all the primary elections. The power of public opinion can decide the result after voting and can be used to differentiate between the leaders who listen to the people and those who take views for granted.
Public opinion impacts significantly on policymaking, but often it is not that coherent to understand the extent it affects the making of policies. For example when a public opinion proposes and supports a particular policy and a political leader addresses the policy by taking a position; clearly, they share in the belief of the public (Zubik, 152). The society often respects and recommends such leaders to specific positions that they ask for during their campaigns. Unfortunately, public opinion can never be the same for all the voters. Some other voters also take their sides and hence addressing their grievances becomes a challenge to the political leaders.
Political leaders must be intelligent and wise enough to select between the most appropriate policies that can be used by a majority who will ultimately decide on the outcome after the polls (Zubik, 165).

The public is often divided in opinions, and every individual has a private opinion. A private opinion can become a public opinion, and it ends up been considered in policymaking when it concerns the general issues of the public.
In conclusion, public opinion plays a significant role in defining the shape of political views among individuals. An opinion starts with an individual in the form of a private opinion then it can be considered as a public opinion which when accepted by the people can be used in policy making. Public opinion can also be used to decide which leaders become the favorites in the poll when they share in the beliefs of the people. Therefore, public opinion affects private opinion in policy making and the polls.
Work cited
Zubik V. Burwell. People and politics. Public opinion and political socialization, (2016). Pg. 149-178.