The founders explicitly rejected direct democracy — in which
citizens vote on every issue — in favor of representative
democracy. The idea was that legislators would convene at a safe
remove from voters and, thus insulated from the din of narrow
interests and widespread but ephemeral passions, do what was in
the long-term interest of their constituents and of the nation.
Now information technology has stripped away the insulation that
physical distance provided back when information couldn’t travel
faster than a horse.Yes, one wonders what the Framers might have
thought of free speech. February 3, 2010 Says Robert Wright: