Plymouth banner. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1852-1855, 1854-12-14

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PUBLIC OPINION.-ItS Uses and
Vices.


having their foundation and reason in
the very nature Of his constitution as an
intelligent. moral. sentient being an
| observance of which laws, we cell natur-
al 1: their lnfraction anomalous.
or these conditions of his nature, there
is, perhaps none more universal than
that OF association. 1t holds good in
regard 10 all ranks Of the animal crea-
ton. bnt exists in man eminently.
Man is social being. he is endowed
with faculties and feelings that find
Development only in communion with
his kind. And these are by far lis no.
blest gifts, satisfying his nobler capacity
for happiness. and the more he is detach-
ed from selfish considerations, the more
his sympa thies go out to his fellows: in
just that proportion is he ennobled and
blessed So this law has all the force of
an instinct. Man is SO dependent on his
| IcilOW uau iOT tuC lIdt tHIb
life requires and his nature demands. that
we can hardly conceive what human be-
ing would be, completely isolated from
all the rest. and deem such desire the
fruit Of crszyed and dis,empered fancy,
and even such few instances as are re-
corded of this utter seclusion as almost
fabulous.
How selfish soever a man may BE-, he is
not so selfish as to isolate his interests
from those Of others, fit be but one 9TH
er. This is then a wise, benevolent,
universal and powerful provision in the
human economy. Hence has sprung
every social organization, every form Of
civil compact. every combination Of
means 10 an end, oil the immense power
of associated effort of which this world
has been the theatre. from the first fami
" institution in Eden. 10 the Colossal
powers that TO day divide the empire be-
tween them.
Hence too is derived the Omnipotence
of that interest. Public Opinion the
tyrant or the iiberator of man according
to its particular stamp: powerful for
good. and no less so for evil. and follow
ing the law Of his nature, as the ght
the day. or. as effect from cause. In
certain communities it is the sole arbiter.
Woe TO the Indian brave. who has merit.
ed the disapprobation of his tribe. Their
seal of public disgrace is on him; he is
exiled from their communion. and his ex-
termination becomes a virtue: nor do the
happy hunting grounds where we'll his
forefa theirs with The Great Spirit. hold
| out any hope to him, if under the public
ban.
Public Opinion was int nded to be the
best safeguard of the rights, liberties.
and civil virtues of men. and therefore
demands unshackled freedom for its e1er-
else. free avenues Of thought, speech. and
action. Allowediunparall-d range In oul
own country. it is the very soul of our
system. and the divinity of our laws. 1t
may be Defined: the aggregate moral
sense of a society in regard 10 any action.
or events. or character, though this is
true only after this sentiment has become
history. Generally. the bias of the mo-
ment renders it different from what i,
that in every society there must be some
leading Characters superior in some point
position. wealth. or real talents. and
whether worthy or not, they are taken as
the arbiters of opinion. which Of course
takes its hue from them; and they being
subject 10 motives Of private interest. in
dividual aggrandizement, and personal
jealousies. and as more than half of any
community never have an opinion of their
own, but think as their magna;es do, the
scale of right and wrong is liable to be
somewhat equivocal.
But though frequently just in its a.
wards, and always Legitimate court OF
appeal, yet blindly trusted to. it turns a
very tyrant in its hold on the mind. till
a man no longer doubts its infallibility,
and bows before his selferected Divin-
ity with m ore than Eastern devotion.
What huge bugbear is this same Pub
lie Opinion. that its decree in all ma tiers
Of taste. fashion, good and evil. moral
right and wrong. should be 90 convincing
and unquesiioned. that its nod should
make the world tre,nble Forgetting
that it is only the infallible sentence of
creatures like themselves, men invest it
with imaginary terrors. and turn towards
before their equals.
There is no more abject bondman than
he whose only rule Of action is the al
mighty say-so of somebody else. Public
Opinion is not the ultimate rule of right,
there is higher law written in every
ones consciousness. to which he is chief
ly sme ma BILE, and at whose tribunal Pop
ular opinion is never an excuse if antsg-
onist to its monitions. He who can look
unblushing into The face of society and
say IL care not what others think Of me. +"
is n knave than which there is none great
err; he who thinks of nothing slse is
slave. pitiful slave.
The two extremes Of open defiance and
servile sycophency are alike reprehensi-
BILE. There is a point Of complacency
beyond which no man can 90 and pre-.
serve his own selfrespect. or the esteem
Of others. When il is more likely that
the public are right than one individual.