A peril of democracy.

I'm leery of public opinion polls. Chances are many of 'em are inaccurate. The pollsters ask for people's opinions. And often, the people polled may be ignorant and ill-informed. But because politicians and other decisionmakers give credence to the polls, they do so at great peril. Great risk. My guess is that at least half of the people polled don't know what they think. But they don't want to appear stupid. So they participate. The same goes for people who go to the polls and vote. They think that good citizens vote. So they go through the ritual. And they vote like robots. With opinions based on misinformation in 30-second sound bites. And their party affiliation. That's a peril of democracy. Everybody has the opportunity to vote. Even idiots, imbeciles, morons and Republicans. --Jim Broede