End of the Semester

Well my public opinion class is coming to an end. Classes are over and my final project is to compile a portfolio on everything I have completed this semester. I just wanted to post one last time and say that I have learned a lot about public opinion from my course, especially regarding the issue I have focused on all semester, embryonic stem cell research. I have learned that this issue has a very short history and that many people express their opinions in polls even when they do not really know much about an issue (I include myself as one who expresses opinions on issues I think I know about and really don't!). I have learned a lot about my issue not only with polling on the issue, but factual information I did not know before I took this class. For instance, I never knew the first embryonic stem cell was extracted in 1998 and that polls did not begin centering on this issue until 2001. I also will admit that I did not understand Bush's policy on banning federal funding for the research, which is my own fault because I just listened to one piece of the information and based my opinion on that. Overall, I have to say that I would not depend solely on public opinion polls to show how America feels about an issue, but I think expressing our opinions, whether formed from facts or misinformation, is vital in a democratic society that embraces our first Amendment right of the freedom of speech.