ABSTRACT
One of the fascinating features of political life is that there are “tides” in the affairs of men: that public opinion can be “swayed”; that certain events can become “turning points”; that certain leaders can “galvanize” a host of followers; that political facts, feelings, and movements wait for “definition,” “direction,” “momentum.” Political life is remarkably dependent upon symbolic life. An aggregate of individuals can be bombarded with “divisive” symbols and split apart, as for example in the bitter division on the Democratic Left between the followers of Eugene McCarthy and those of Robert Kennedy in 1968. On the other hand, the same aggregate of individuals can be left leaderless, apathetic, without energy or direction. Finally, that same aggregate can be “inspired,” united, dedicated to a common task. Individuals can be bound by symbols that shape a communal life.
