Here’s a thought: Communal access to local, state and federal representatives is a public good.
I doubt that this is a controversial thought. Democracy is contingent on the involvement and activity the constituency has with its government across all levels of government. Stipulating that any successful democratic republic can thrive with a lack of communicative access between representatives and their constituents is fundamentally oxymoronic. Yet, some Texas representatives apparently, most definitely effectively, do not hold this most basic understanding of democracy to be true—I’m calling you out specifically, Ted Cruz.
Let me start off by saying that I am thrilled that Americans are becoming active in American politics. This type of political activity has not occurred within my lifetime, and it has been likened to the political activity of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. A civilized people are not truly free until they express and exert their societally accepted freedoms, and by that standard, America is freer today than it has been in a while. A peculiarity of freedom is that it is most fully expressed, and even expanded, only when it is threatened the most.
America’s current political atmosphere is no exception, which is why when the American public was encouraged by numerous interest groups and independent citizens to contact their elected officials to express their concerns, many constituents actually followed through. Specifically, President Donald Trump’s nominations were (are) very worrisome for constituents, and some constituents expressed themselves in astonishing numbers. The effectiveness of calling elected officials has been well remarked, and how receptive the public has been to this message is truly inspiring. Anecdotally, my friends and family members alike called senatorial offices, many for the first time, and I called as well.
While the act of constituents calling their senators’ offices is great in terms of democratic participation, I would not write an article about the influx of participation alone if I had no grievance. As luck would have it, I have a grievance.
When I called Senator Cruz’s office regarding my disapproval of Trump’s cabinet nominations, the voicemail box was full. I could not leave a message and I could not get a hold of someone. Effectively, I could not express myself. Of course, I could have written a letter or an email, but I chose to call and talk to someone personally. That is the method of communication I wanted to utilize and establish between my senator’s office and me. Certainly, it is a method I should be able to use at my own leisure.
The fact that I could not get into contact with my senator in my manner of choice is entirely disrespectful to political discourse. I regard the communicative relationship I have with my elected officials entirely as a public good. I should not have to compete with other individuals in order to announce my discontent (or approval). I was not even asking for a platform from which I could speak—I was demanding that I at least have a chance to say something. I did not get that chance. I was not heard. Unfortunately, my experience contacting elected officials is not unique. Others have run into the same issue, particularly in Texas. Senator Cornyn’s office was even hanging up on callers.
Is it reasonable to ask that the voicemail box to never be full? Possibly not. There are practical limits to the extent of which the communicative relationship I want can be extended. Technology has limits. Humanly contact has limits. However, unlimited capacity for voicemail systems exists and in any case, practical limitations should not excuse democratic infringements. Communicative freedom, or the freedom that I assert through commutative relationships, should be exhaustive in the methods to exercise it. This is an ideal that should be observed. If I cannot communicatively express myself, my communicative freedom is wrongfully limited. To be clear, that is bad.
Since I could not express myself a couple of weeks ago, let me do so here. Like countless Americans, I have not and do not support Trump’s agenda and nominations. To Senator Cruz, Senator Cornyn, and all current and future elected officials, please pick up the phone next time, or even call back. At least, update your voicemail systems.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/congress-phone-calls/
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/heres-why-you-should-call…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/politician-voicemail-boxes-full.html
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-politics/2017/02/08/texas-senators-…