The Phantom Public

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Azeem B. 11/22/2011 The Phantom Public Response The Phantom Public, written by Walter Lippmann has a lot of meaning in it. Lippmann main point of his argument is that the public of America cannot run the government. He believed that the people of America are not smart enough to make important decisions. The public does not know enough to successfully make decisions that will benefit the majority of the people. He believes that people only make decisions depending on a certain situation at a certain time only benefitting those who make that decision. He believes that the public are a “reserve force” that should only step in when the government officials cannot make the decision. We as the people come together only when the time is right and we make a difference that affects everyone. Lippmann states that there are basically two types of people in this world, “insiders and outsiders.” Insiders according to Lippmann are those who know enough of a situation or problem that can provide a solution to the problem. Outsiders are the public that are spectators are do not know enough to give a solution to the problem, which is left to the executive insiders. Walter Lippmann makes a valid point by calling the public a reserve force. I also believe the majority of the public does not know enough to make the executive decisions. We have one role and one role only, to intervene when a crisis is at hand. Most of the public does not want to get into such affairs because they either don’t know enough or they just don’t care enough about the situation at hand. I personally don’t know enough about situations that the insiders of today’s world are arguing on. I consider myself a part of the reserve only to act when something catches my eye because it is interesting to me or when it is time for the public to come together as a whole. I know for a fact that I am not

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