Assessing Public Opinion Toward the Military
Abstract
Opinions and attitudes of the US public toward its military have shifted over the years from strong admiration to fear and contempt. A number of historical and cultural events have helped shape public opinion. Although public opinion is not predicated solely on what happens in an historical and cultural sense, it should be analyzed and documented on the premise that public opinion affects national power, and those things which affect national power are within the realm of interest of the military and national government. A perhaps frightening aspect of the dynamics of shifting public opinion is the dynamics of shifting public opinion is the uncontrolled nature of the shifts and the resultant impact on national power. Also influencing public opinion are developments in weapons and military technology, the massive Soviet propaganda effort, and the mass communications media. This paper is written with the purpose of raising the level of awareness of military and national leaders to the threat to national power which, although lying subtly out of view because it does not pose and immediate threat to our security, nonetheless offers a formidable challenge now. A broad proposal would lay the foundation for proper research and development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA159276
Entities
People
- Carl H. Foster
Organizations
- Air War College