This is complicated by situations where the majority opinion is clearly imprudent so few people actually follow it, but they will loudly insist they agree with

This is complicated by situations where the majority opinion is clearly imprudent so few people actually follow it, but they will loudly insist they agree with it to avoid the social cost of nonconformity. Sadly, in US society it’s an important life skill to be able to recognize this sort of dishonesty and act accordingly.