Polls and surveys within the past 3 years indicate the public is frightened, confused, and angry, and wants greater protection from criminal activity. The only consistent trend in public opinion is support for the death penalty. In other areas, the public is not sure that prisons deter crime, and 60 percent believe prisons should rehabilitate inmates. Federal corrections policy has never been more one-sided, ideologically based, and politicized. Punishment and incapacitation are emphasized, and rehabilitation programs receive meager support. Correctional leaders, in order to preserve their jobs, reflect the views of the party in power. Leadership for rational and balanced correctional policies must therefore come from State and national independent, nongovernmental organizations which are committed to the upgrading of corrections and can provide long-term policy development and support. A balanced view of crime causes and control must be provided and supported. 'Pluralistic ignorance,' systematic inaccurate assessment of public and group opinion, must be reduced if key persons are to have the confidence to lead in new directions. Public opinion can be influenced by leadership, but leadership must carry a message, a plan, and a policy that is clearly articulated and readily understood.