Don't let the dialogue of democracy be a victim, too (Lee Hamilton)

[struggle4progress]

By Lee Hamilton
January 15, 2011

... Our democracy depends on members of Congress being able to mingle freely with the people they serve. Yes, they have a lot of responsibilities in Washington that go with the job, but for these to have any meaning in a representative democracy they have to be rooted back home. It's in their discussions with ordinary Americans that members do their most important work — at formal town halls, in stops by cafes, in speeches at VFW halls or visits to community groups, in impromptu conversations and at organized "listening sessions" like the "Congress on your Corner" event that Congresswoman Giffords was hosting.

These are where they get a glimpse of what's on people's minds and how strongly they feel about it; get alerted to issues they may not have known about; get questioned and challenged on their political stances; and have a chance to explain both their own and the Congress' thinking. Without this kind of two-way education, representative democracy simply wouldn't work.

Members of Congress know this. That is why they take care to hold such events as frequently as possible, despite the pressures of fundraising, legislating, trying to keep some semblance of a personal life — and the awareness of possible trouble. They long ago learned to live with threats — the FBI has investigated hundreds of them over the past decade — even though it is never easy to go out in public after you've received one. Yet they've continued to be as accessible as possible, because that is the only way they can do their jobs properly.

Now, despite some members' protestations that they won't let it happen, some sort of chill may well settle over the give-and-take between members of Congress and their constituents. It won't be obvious; no elected representative is going to announce, "I'm cutting down on my public appearances." But there will almost certainly be fewer of them, and those that do take place will probably be harder or more intimidating to get into ...

http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2011-01-14-71120.113116-Dont-let-the-dialogue-of-democracy-be-a-victim-too.html