From talk radio to television shows, from popular magazines to Web blogs, ordinary citizens, political figures, and entertainers express their opinions on a wide range of topics. Are these opinions worthwhile? Does the expression of such opinions foster democratic values? Write an essay in which you take a position on the value of such public statements of opinion, supporting your view with appropriate evidence.

(hi please don't copy word for word, but this is the essay i submitted. hope i could help)

        Talk shows, television, social media, and magazines are just a small amount of media that is responsible for housing the opinions of thousands. Opinion is one of the main contributions a citizen or constituent can make to a democratic society, emphasizing the importance of receiving everyone's opinion and its role in shaping democratic values.

          Every opinion provides a fresh view that is welcome, especially in a decision making process. New ideas allow room for more possibilities, allowing. people to experience a fresh view and to branch off of that view, which can spark even more ideas and possibilities. Every opinion and point of view is unique to that individual person. While facts can be incorrect, there is no wrong opinion, meaning that each and every opinion carries value. Opinions of certain people with the social backing or validity tend to carry more weight than that of the average person, but that doesn't mean that the opinions of a lesser known person are invalid.

         Due to modern day technology, it is even easier to voice opinions and communicate them to vast amounts of different people. In a democracy, It is important that everyone expresses their own point of view, or the democracy isn't valid. The definition of democracy is a, "government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system", which elaborates the importance of the power vested in the people. The power the people have is their freedom of expression. A democracy takes into account the needs and wants of all its constituents. The basis of democratic values are the expression of individual opinion. Without opinion, a democracy loses its power. The strength of a democracy lies in the vast diversity of ideas that come from each individual constituent that contributes into the decision making process. Democratic values stem from the people and their beliefs, creating policies that are more fit for the people it serves. A democracy that only takes half of a sample of ideas from its people cannot be considered a true democracy, for the ideas that are generated only reflect a portion of the population. Therefore, without every opinion, no matter how diverse, a democracy cannot function correctly.

question 1: d) the old man continued, "in the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own destinies.'"

question 2: d) by providing a different perspective and encouraging the englishman to never give up, the boy him to discover the alchemist.

question 3: c) the stones he gave santiago the boy to recognize omens, which will him on his journey to find his personal legend.

question 4: d) when the englishman wants to quit, santiago doesn’t allow the englishman to give up.

question 5: a) by instructing the englishman to go and try, the englishman is motivated to continue on his journey toward his personal legend.

explanation: