The World of Public Opinion

WITH the celebration of the Press Freedom Week in Cebu recently, public attention was again focused on the exciting, albeit delicate world of public opinion. I was happy to note that media practitioners took time to make some examination of conscience and formulate certain resolutions.

On the whole, I hope that more and more people get to be more aware of this important aspect of our social and political life. I hope more can participate in forming and developing it as actively as possible.

Public opinion is a necessary element in our life. And the more we develop and move on, the more we need to indulge in it, since that's one effective way to know the views and sentiments of the everyone. Thus we have to encourage all to participate.

And with the advent of many gadgets, people's participation in public opinion should not be a problem. The Internet, the email, the cell phones can facilitate a more massive participation from the people. This is indeed progress.

I'm happy to note that the newspapers, radio and TV have opened their doors more creatively to receive more opinions from the people. I hope more imaginative initiatives be made in this area to sustain and foster this public interest, and use it for truly constructive ends.

I personally marvel at how public opinion is now not so much monopolized by a few opinion-makers as it used to be. Any ordinary Juana can more likely now have her opinion heard or read by others. Again this is progress.

No matter how much we may disagree with others, it's always good to listen to what they have to say, to know how they feel or stand in a certain issue. We just have to learn to listen to everyone.

This point is worth reiterating, since public opinion is now an indispensable tool and forum to develop our sense as a people, as a nation. If you wonder why we are still fractious and deeply divided as a people, the answer could be because we are still light years away from the ideal insofar as public opinion is concerned.

To me, public opinion can be like the heartbeat and pulse of a people. It's a good way to see a nation's soul, whether it is healthy and strong, or not. It can give us a very good idea of how we are, and of what we need in order to attain what we ought to be.

This is because public opinion is not only a reflection of how a people are. It also helps in shaping a people's identity. That's why it has to be handled properly. We have to be keenly aware of its power, and learn how to use it for the common good.

As a priest, I feel that it can also be a very effective instrument to build up our basic humanity and our spiritual life. Public opinion should not be confined solely to issues related to our temporal affairs. It can and should be used also to discuss matters related to religion and faith.

I find it amusing that while many people are very conversant about political issues, and are not shy at all to offer their ideas about them, they are almost like pygmies and helpless ignoramuses when it comes to matters of belief.

A very ancient, primitive bias still grips them, leading them to think that religious questions are best if not only resolved in a strictly individual and personal way. Indeed a stone-age attitude truly out of place in our times.

In this area, there are many, many things that need to be known, learned, clarified, resolved, etc. And public opinion can precisely be of great help. The complexity of our life today, the fast pace of our development simply require it.

Of course, for all these, proper dispositions and manners are a must. We cannot expect to have a fruitful exchange of ideas in the forum of public opinion if we are arrogant, deceitful, highly opinionated, averse to listen to others.

We cannot have a good public opinion if it is littered by a lot of bickering, negativism, fault-finding, petty quarrels, bad manners. We cannot have a good public opinion if we allow the passions to reign over reason, and especially over our faith and basic charity for all, and when we don't study the issues well before speaking or writing.

We have to learn to present our views cordially and in a friendly way. We should not feel enemies of anyone. Everyone is our friend, our brother or sister, no matter how much we disagree with him or her.

We have to learn to deal with others with respect, trying to understand their point of view, learning how to listen and to avoid being rude. We should even assist those with whom we do not agree. We should never be pessimistic or bitter complainers.
Thus, whenever I read or hear opinion-makers doing their thing with all the bad qualities, I can only pray hard that things change and that people get more enlightened and inspired by the Holy Spirit, because only then, in the end, can we have a truly good public opinion.

The true power of the word, of which public opinion is a very delicate manifestation, can only be used properly when one is in the Holy Spirit. Short of that, we can only expect more trouble.