The Young Turks

What would life be like if you could walk up to the person that represents you in government and tell them how you feel about issues? What if you could sit in on a meeting in Congress and make your voice heard? A place where you have a open town hall meeting with your representative? I hope one day that will be able to happen. I feel that Virtual worlds will make this a reality in the future. Congress has already held meetings in the world of Second Life where the residents, were able to sit in on. With Rep George Miller (D-CA), talking through his “Avatar” to the people of Second Life. "I'm the canary in the coal mine," Miller told the audience. "Second Life is the next frontier and hopefully other members will use it to expand the [public's] interest and participation in Congress. I'm going to report back to my colleagues about how all this works."
    I hope to see more politicians making themselves more accessible in this way. A world where you can have a cup of “coffee” with Nancy Pelosi or Henry Waxman. Nancy Scola, a former aide to Henry Waxman wrote an essay for George Washington University about Democracy and Politics in Second Life (http://www.ipdi.org/Uploade dFiles/Avatar%20Politics.pd f) . If  companies like IBM can hold world wide meetings and Schools like Ohio University can hold classes in Second Life. Then why can't our government hold town meeting or have “office hours”?