Public opinion is presumptively an input to policy formation in a democracy because politicians respond to it or at least are believed to respond [to it].
In our democracy and our civic discourse, it seems as if folks who take religion the most seriously are sometimes also those who are suspicious of those not like them.
I told the students that we can exert pressure without resorting to violence, and that we can move towards democracy without violence; that way, God will allow it.