Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-10-09
OCTOBER 9, 1867. a
The Manufacture of Public Opin.

An ancient Jewish poet describes with
energy and point the manufacture not only
OF the absurd and grotesque figure of the
ancient idols, which we now look upon and
wonder how people found it possible to
make such things without laughing at
themselves, but also the more difficult pro-
cess by which they got up. quite an enthu-
siasm in favor of idol worship, even among
the Jews, who had the true religion. Mu-
tual help to start course of action, i'm
plying enthusiasm, in matter about
which, at the outset, no one was very GER
tain or enthusiastic, and all the rest fol-
lows as certain as a ball set rolling over
the top OF the hill will roll on with in
creased rapidity and force till it gets to the
bottom. "They helped every one his
neighbor, and every one said to his neigh
Dor, be of good courage. So the car
penter encouraged the goldsmith, and he
that smootheth with the hammer, him that
smote the anvil" In fact the whole pro-
cess is laid bare, each man was not only
making an image, but by his activity Gre
ating an opinion in favor of the image, and
each encouraged the other to a faith be-
yond what he possessed himself, and then
in return caught the infection of the idea
himself, until the labor bestowed in Great
ing the image seemed to put life and DOW
er into it, and manufactured public opinL
lon in its favor. It was thus that Deme-
tie image of Diana, raised a shout in favor
of his goddess that the whole city caught
up, until the town clerk was ready Offieial-
" to declare 1t fixed fact that the city of
Ephesus was entirely worshipper of Di-
ana, and the great image that fell down
from Jupiter. .ii-.ju<Aii' , l',,S
1t is thus instinctively, and often uninten-
tionally, that false public opinion is cre-
ated, on all sorts of subjects, moral and
political. 1t is thus that all myths grow
out Of little exaggeration; and political
extremes and absurdities are manufactured
for party purposes, without any one man
dreaming. at the beginning, the excesses
he will advocate and fully believe before
he gets through. A thorough understand
ing among the conspirators, and concert OF
action in any excessive or extreme action,
for the sake of effect, will produce the
whole. Let even but few men go to work
and concert to act as if they were q1ite in
earnest as if some unquestionable error
were clear and open truth, and they will
encourage one another, and help one ano-
ther, until the most moderate and skepticai
not only act as if they believed. but will have
the most undoubted- belief of a thousand
things that the most enthusiastic had never
dreamed Of when they began. r1gl ogO
1t is thus that all extreme political doc
trines are hammered out. Each idol, most
caricaturing and grotesque in its dstor-
tions of the human figure, only grew into
its absurdity out of some accidental exag-
geration at first, or striking point of beau
ty, carried to excess by some artist want
ing to make an impression. And 80 it is
that in all ages the manufactures of the
the national idols, in the shape of mischiev-
Gus opinions, have begun simply by put
ting strong point upon a striking word
or figure. usfa - i -.II
lt is this tendency of men to cooperate
and to swell out into undue prominence
some image of their own, that is the bane
of all politics at this time. There are
plenty of broken-down idols fresh in
the memory of all. Andrew jackson. al
most made himself an idol of one class by
breaking down one that he thought had
grown up in our own city to disproportion-
ate magnitude, in the shape of National
Bank. Catholicism and anti-Catholicism
have in turn been worshipped and de-
nounced; protection and free trade, Rad
icalism and Conservatism, Prohibit ion and
License law. In Rome, at last, during the
days of idolatry, they formed Pantheon,
where all the idols could, be worshipped
together, or any that were preferred by the
devotee, singly or in any combination.
This soon produced general indifference
to the whole. The faith of one sapping
that In the exclusive pretensions of the
rest.
Washington has its political Pantheon at
the Capitol, where the carpenter encour-
ages the goldsmith, and he hatismootheth
with the hammer him that smitheth with
the anvil. But the people are getting in
different to all the idols of the past, and
anxious only that there be not too much.
shouting for any of them. zf ss-,,-y