Today I learned that the term silent majority originated as a euphemism for the dead1. Petonius wrote abiit ad plures around AD 50 which translates as "he's gone to the many"2.
It was almost exclusively used as a reference for the dead up until Richard Nixon popularized it in a televised address on November 3, 1969, "And so tonight—to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans—I ask for your support" in reference to those who supported the Vietnam War. This was likely pulled from John F. Kennedy's book Profiles in Courage which Nixon had received as a gift from Kennedy3.
The reason I thought about it this morning because of news of the results from yesterday's elections. Nixon won the 72 election and his approval ratings shot through the roof especially in the south, which vindicated the theory even thought the polling on Vietnam said otherwise.
Gallup(👈🏼1971)/CBS(1985👉🏼) Polling on Vietnam4
| % | 2018 | 2000 | 1995 | 1992 | 1985 | 1971 | 1970 | 1968 | 1967 | 1965 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wrong | 51 | 60 | 72 | 70 | 73 | 60 | 57 | 46 | 32 | 24 |
| Right | 22 | 24 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 31 | 32 | 42 | 52 | 60 |
| n/o | 27 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 15 |
I thought about how many times I've ignored some political poll and how I think it's mostly bullshit. I tried to imagine those who might respond to a political survey and all I could imagine was the more vocal minority answering their phones. I certainly wouldn't say that Nascar dads, soccer moms, or angry white males are silent anymore. If anything, the outcome of yesterday's elections show the silent ones to be slightly liberal which goes against it's use in modern political rhetoric.
The term just makes more sense as a reference of the dead. A term and theory that does ring true with me is the spiral of silence which says that the perceived public opinion will influence opinions and actions5. It's been scientifically illustrated in a bunch of different studies on deviance and social norms. Saying there is a silent majority is nonsense... the votes speak clearly. The rhetoric is just there to try and sway the perceived public opinion exactly as Nixon had done so successfully.
History has now taught us otherwise and it's been shown that time tends to dull divisiveness6. The most interesting thing to me about the Vietnam polls are that the further we are from it, the less people have an opinion. The issue I have in using the term today is that the information age has given everyone a voice in the void and the appearance of public opinion is often lobbed in your favor in an attempt to keep your attention. I've written a bunch on this in the past7,8, so I'll just sum it up with let's let the dead rest in peace, quit being so divisive, and let individuals determine their own opinions.
- Silent majority - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_majority
- The Etymology Nerd - Adam Aleksic - Silence of the Dead - https://www.etymologynerd.com/blog/silence-of-the-dead
- The Silent Majority - U.S. Information Agency report 1969 - https://www.c-span.org/video/?465359-1/the-silent-majority
- CBS News Poll: U.S. involvement in Vietnam - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-u-s-involvement-in-vietnam/
- Spiral of silence - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_of_silence
- The American Public's Attitudes about Richard Nixon Post-Watergate - https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/blog/american-publics-attitudes-about-richard-nixon-post-watergate
- Illiberalism - https://davidawindham.com/illiberalism/
- Dirty Algorithm - https://davidawindham.com/dirty-algorithm/