The Law vs Public Opinion

[gimmepie]

So, basically recent events in my life have made me consider the importance of both the law and of public opinion and how they correspond with one another and I have been left with a couple of questions in my head - so I figured why not pose these questions to the community here and see what everyone thinks.

What holds more sway in contemporary society, public opinion or the law?
Do the two differ? If so, how much and in what areas?
Should they both affect our decisions and if so, to what extent?
Does either have influence over the other? Is it a good thing if they do?
Lastly, which do you find is more important to you?

I'll answer myself later. So with that, discuss! :D

 

[KittenKoder]

Sadly, public opinion still has way too much control over lives, even the laws. While the laws in some areas may appear to differ, they don't when you get down to the numbers. Public opinion goes by a less PC name, mob mentality. This is why true Democracy cannot work, at all, all mob rule systems collapse into witch hunts because public opinion is almost never based on facts or evidence, it's all about what people want to exist.

I ignore public opinion in almost everything, though I do check reviews for some games before buying them because the reviews offer some explanations and facts of the games. I consider anyone who follows public opinion to be nothing more than a tool, they cannot think for themselves and thus need others to tell them what to think. Probably why I like the Pokemon crowd, fewer tools because the older fans have to ignore public opinion and the younger ones don't usually care about it just because.

But public opinion is one reason I can't stand the US either, we're ruled way too much by it still and public opinion in the US is still very primitive. Some countries have a more advanced and informed public opinion, just not many yet.

 

[LoudSilence]

It's like Kitten said, public opinion definitely holds way more weight than the law, almost to an obscene extent. This is especially true in the West.

Do I see this as a bad thing? I'm not really sure. Democracy as it's implemented now represents public interests pretty poorly, and the law more often than not is perceived as a hindrance rather than a means of organising society as it ought to. The fact that there is such a stigma against the passing of new laws and those who implement/enforce them (politicians and police, respectively) shows that something is clearly wrong. That plus the fact that we are naturally inclined to join the "hivemind" mentality rather than think independently makes going with the flow of public opinion an attractive choice.

Public opinion and the law should work in tandem because you can't really do away with one or another. I think people need a more hands on approach than simply electing representatives, most of whom are assumed to be crooked by default as the "game" itself is built on dishonesty and manipulation. Even then I don't know how to really make things "right" as I think we're living by a flawed system to begin with, but that's another discussion :)

 

[Rezilia]

I disagree completely.

The law has more influence than public opinion. Let's say that public opinion is that we should be able to drive as fast as we want when there's no traffic on the other side nor curves, bumps, etc which could get us in a wreck - this actually IS the public opinion. Despite that, police will still pull you over in that situation. It doesn't matter if 99.9999999% of the population wants to go above the speed limit - you're still getting a ticket. That's the power of the law.

Unfortunately, the longer a nation has existed, the more power law will have over public opinion. This is because the public opinion in the time of the nation's founding, which made the law, will be greatly different from the public opinion today - and yet, despite this, the law will still be seen as having more value than modern opinion. The Bible is the perfect example of this. It was written well over 2,000 years ago, yet people still follow it as if it means jack anything in today's society.

The only way to fix this issue is to change the law in response to public opinion. Unfortunately, this is often denied and "those in charge" use the law to burn at the stake anyone with modern opinion.

 

[Kaizaer Dragonovian]

First off this is a pokémon community not a logics community. Second, the law is made by the peoples descisions. People come before law. If popular vote is that kids can play M games then let it be. If I were a cop I would enforce what the people want. They hired me not the president or the constitution. I am for the people, by the people, and am one of those people. Let them control the law.

 

[gimmepie]

What holds more sway in contemporary society, public opinion or the law?
In a society where appearances are everything, public opinion can hold a bit too much sway if you ask me. Even if an action is perfectly legal, if society in general does not approve it still becomes taboo and it can cause a lot of trouble if people find out you are breaking this taboo. In theory, the law is more powerful - since it can be enforced, but the reality of the matter is we are far more concerned with public opinion as a society.

Exhibit A - It is illegal to download illegally but most of society accepts that it is okay, so pretty much everyone still does it.

Do the two differ? If so, how much and in what areas?

See my above comment about piracy. That's one of the most obvious ones to me.
Another rather large discrepancy that I'm seeing is public opinion on dating/the age of consent relative to the law.

Point 1: In Australia, the way the law is phrased means that it is perfectly legal for an adult to have a non-sexual relationship with someone who is below the age of consent. But public opinion, is that this is wrong so the "offender" in the couple could still very well end up labelled as a sex offender, imprisoned or have there entire future ruined by something perfectly legal.

Point B: There are people on the other side of the spectrum, who think that if the age gap is small enough even a sexual relationship would then be okay. This is actually a fairly large community of people (which does unfortunately include actual paedophiles) and they simply disregard the law - very few that I have met have ever suffered consequences.

Both maybe be opposite situations, but both raise the same point - regardless of your circle, public opinion will always hold more sway over your actions than the law.

Should they both affect our decisions and if so, to what extent?
Do a degree, I think that yes public opinion should affect our decisions. It is fairly important that we are not ostracised from our communities if we wish to make friends and find good work. This being said, I do not think public opinion should hold as much sway as it does. I find that all too often it interferes with peoples happiness and well-being because they are too afraid to act in a manor society deems inappropriate.

The law should definitely be an important factor. Nobody should be going around committing major crimes simply because they feel like it and regardless of the severity of the crime people who break the law should certainly be prepared to suffer consequences and at least know what they're getting into.

Does either have influence over the other? Is it a good thing if they do?
I think, that the law is far more affected by public opinion than opinion is by the law.

Largely, because in democratic countries (which is most of them at this point I'm fairly sure) the law is made by public opinion. Society is either directly (the MPs) or indirectly (the voters) responsible for what laws are brought in, and which are thrown out. This, is a good thing. The problem is when pubic opinion overrides legality.

Lastly, which do you find is more important to you?

This is a hard thing to answer, and it depends a lot upon the situation. In general, I do not like to be ruled by the opinions of others so I have a tendency to follow my own morals - which generally include doing what is legal, if not for a feeling of moral obligation certainly out of an instinct for self preservation.

 

[LoudSilence]

The law has more influence than public opinion. Let's say that public opinion is that we should be able to drive as fast as we want when there's no traffic on the other side nor curves, bumps, etc which could get us in a wreck - this actually IS the public opinion. Despite that, police will still pull you over in that situation. It doesn't matter if 99.9999999% of the population wants to go above the speed limit - you're still getting a ticket. That's the power of the law.

You're right in a sense, but I don't think the power of the law itself is in question...it's more like what influences people more.

Like if I told you smoking pot was illegal, someone who was intent on trying pot for the first time would probably find a way to do it anyway. If I told you instead that smoking pot was absolutely hated by society and was not accepted as any sort of social activity/means of enjoyment, most people's curiosity would be quelled and they'd avoid it so they wouldn't fight the current of public opinion. (I'd never do drugs but it seemed like a relevant example haha)

We are largely uncomfortable with feeling like outcasts, but breaking a law we think we had good reason to break (or considered it a stupid law) wouldn't really weigh on our conscience much, you know? It's just like gimmiepie is saying here:

Even if an action is perfectly legal, if society in general does not approve it still becomes taboo and it can cause a lot of trouble if people find out you are breaking this taboo. In theory, the law is more powerful - since it can be enforced, but the reality of the matter is we are far more concerned with public opinion as a society.

Exhibit A - It is illegal to download illegally but most of society accepts that it is okay, so pretty much everyone still does it.

Unfortunately, the longer a nation has existed, the more power law will have over public opinion. This is because the public opinion in the time of the nation's founding, which made the law, will be greatly different from the public opinion today - and yet, despite this, the law will still be seen as having more value than modern opinion. The Bible is the perfect example of this. It was written well over 2,000 years ago, yet people still follow it as if it means jack anything in today's society.

I dunno, how would we explain what's happened/happening in Egypt and Syria right now? That's a classic law vs. public opinion clash right there, and we can tell who the common man is siding with.

First off this is a pokémon community not a logics community.

...And this is a discussion and debate board haha. This is the place for these types of discussions.

 

[shadowmoon522]

its not like a government wont do illegal & taboo activity's to control and manipulate people, an example of this is Project MKUltra which was an illegal U.S. government human research operation experimenting in the behavioral engineering of humans through the CIA's Scientific Intelligence Division. governments are always about rule and control over the populace whether it be by manipulating the media, silencing threats, spewing lies & half truths or just plain brainwashing. my family consists of arrogant manipulators, everyone of them caring to much about what other people think of them & money. i stopped caring about what people think of me a long time ago after watching how people are. everyone gets so caught up in mobs they lose their sense of individuality. public opinion may hold sway over the laws, but the ones who make the laws can also sway public opinion in their favor with the right methods.

 

[Esper]

Public opinion has a better standing in America. I can't speak much for other countries, but here we have this kind of independent streak that makes us feel like authority is intrusive and wrong. We have laws and we mostly follow the law, but nobody feels bad if they do something illegal. Speeding, jaywalking, downloading - those are the little things that people do without even thinking and we openly laugh at attempts to tell us not to do stuff like that.

People have such low opinions of lawmakers and by extension the law. We all know that laws are made and changed with each new political wind so we tend to look at them as the will of politicians instead of good or bad policy. Unless we agree with them. Like with gay marriage. When it was illegal most places we talked about how unfair the law was, how it didn't reflect what was right. Now that it's becoming law in places you've got people who are against it saying it's not right for the law to do what it's doing.