Understanding Public Opinion Is Critical for Making Public Policy Democratically.

Paul Gugiu argues that Kaplan and Baron-Epel's central idea or underlying premise is not merely wrong, but "dangerous with potentially dire consequences," particularly in our current circumstances of a pandemic and a polarized political atmosphere. We disagree in the strongest terms and believe that nothing in Kaplan and Baron-Epel's article can be fairly thought to support such a claim. We begin by addressing Gugiu's framing of Kaplan and Baron-Epel's position, before examining his criticisms of that position in turn.