MISSOURI WATCH: LEGISLATORS ARE A THREATENED SPECIES

In off moments, when they think no one is listening, most Missouri legislators will admit they are not held in high esteem by their fellow citizens. Missourians not only are skeptical, which is healthy, but they also are cynical, distrustful and angry at political institutions, which is not healthy.

Admittedly, legislators deserve some of the blame. Their campaign attacks on one another and on their institution are certainly not commendable. If they do not change this behavior, we are likely to witness a further decline in public approval.

But some of the blame resides with the public. Citizens routinely trash the legislature and legislators, but they have little idea what either is all about. As Missourians we have the right to change our system, but we also have the responsibility to know what we are changing.

The public needs knowledge of our form of democracy and of the legislative machinery. Unless one has served in a legislature, been on a legislative staff, lobbied a legislature or studied one, it is hard to appreciate its performance. As citizens, we express our fondness for democracy as a concept, but not democracy in action. Most Missourians don't realize that they are divided, by value and issue differences. If matters are not resolved or are resolved in ways we oppose, we conclude that it must be the politicians who are messing things up.

The fact is that people do not appreciate essential features of the legislature. For them, debate is bickering, compromise is selling out, conflict is self-serving and partisanship is political game-playing. Too many of us lack empathy for the ugliness of the system. To turn this around, Missourians need to learn some essential lessons of representative democracy:

-- The public is divided; public opinion is divided.

-- Legislatures, reflecting public opinions, also are divided.

-- Ordinary citizens are represented by interest groups and also by legislators who do their best to be responsive to their constituents.

-- Debate is good, as it allows opposing sides of any issue to be heard and considered.

-- Compromise is essential to build consensus and make progress.

-- Competition and conflict are normal, healthy and usually unavoidable.

-- Citizens cannot get everything they want from government and the legislative branch in particular.

-- Working through to a settlement that is both acceptable to a majority and will serve the best interests of the majority takes time.

-- Although settlements can and often are reached, closure is rare; the process continues.

-- Through it all, tolerance helps.

Who will communicate and teach these lessons that are so essential to public understanding? The media cannot be counted on to do it. The mission of the media is to inform its readers, viewers and listeners of newsworthy events that have transpired, not the systemic needs of government, thereby making it more the problem than the solution. The tendency is to turn to the schools. Elementary and secondary schools teach less civic education now than they used to and they probably never did it very well. That is because our schools' civic education courses have focused on constitutional principles, not on the democratic processes of government.

Who, then, can the legislature rely on to teach the lessons of representative democracy? Since it cannot count on the media or the schools, it has to rely on itself. The legislature must take on civic education as a legislative function -- along with lawmaking, budgeting, oversight and constituent services.

Some legislatures are already engaged in outreach activities. Missouri maintains public information services, although some of these are more dedicated to the political popularity of the elected leadership than in fulfilling a broader role. Lawmakers encourage citizens and school groups to visit the Capitol and on occasion produce videos describing how the General Assembly works and some of the issues it addresses. On the assumption that familiarity breeds empathy, and not contempt, efforts to bring Missourians closer to the legislature are all to the good, but it would be even more useful if the above-noted lessons of representative democracy were made more explicit.

If the General Assembly will take the lead, others will follow and help. Missouri's state university system does not normally engage in civic education, but a number of these schools, as well as some private colleges, should be willing to join in a state program to promote greater public understanding of the self-governmental process.

Missouri's lawmakers have much else on their plates. They have crises to handle and fires to put out. They are up to their waists in alligators, all of whom have teeth. The legislature as an institution is an abstraction; it doesn't bite. And even if it did, by its very nature, its bite wouldn't hurt. It has other worries and concerns that keep it preoccupied with the business at hand.

Despite its importance and essential role in serving the needs of the public, the future of legislatures is in jeopardy and the ability to exercise their responsibilities is being lessened through widespread public erosion of support and confidence. It requires attention now.

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.