I know how easy it is for some minds to glide along with the current of popular opinion, where influence, respectability, and all those motives which tend to seduce the human heart are brought to bear.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
That is what leadership is all about: staking your ground ahead of where opinion is and convincing people, not simply following the popular opinion of the moment.
Public opinion shapes our destinies and guides the progress of human affairs.
Popular struggles to bring about a freer and more just society have been resisted by violence and repression, and massive efforts to control opinion and attitudes. Over time, however, they have met with considerable success, even though there is a long way to go, and there is often regression.
We live in a society obsessed with public opinion. But leadership has never been about popularity.
Public opinion can be influential, the media can be influential.
When I look at public opinion, I'm not far out of the mainstream. I'm in it, in many respects. In some respects, public opinion goes beyond anything I've ever said.
The idea that everyone's opinion is valuable is sometimes up for question.
I was never looking to be popular. The trade-off for me in seeking other people's opinions is the potential to help that you get in the media. And we don't always do that, but when we do, it's a beautiful thing.
Popularity isn't my compass. Unless it can help one to act, to be understood... that's what counts.
Influential people aren't buffeted by the latest trend or by public opinion. They form their opinions carefully, based on the facts. They're more than willing to change their mind when the facts support it, but they aren't influenced by what other people think - only by what they know.