Letters: On integrity shown by Hawkeye women's basketball, political accountability

Hawkeyes did right by basketball recruit

If you want a definition of integrity, here is one: The University of Iowa women's basketball team signs recruit Ava Jones (months after a horrible car accident that killed her father and left her badly injured) and will honor her scholarship, even though she may never set foot on a basketball court.

Hoard Kleenex tissue boxes. If she ever does take the floor at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, there won't be a dry eye in the house.

-Patrick Muller, Hills

Political accountability must take place from the ground up

The best thing about democracy is also the worst thing about democracy, which is that everything must have representation. This means representatives cannot be held personally accountable for the views of the constituents they represent. So, if some modicum of the electorate wants authoritarianism, that view must be represented. It doesn't matter if they are tricked into wanting it (I'm sure that's how anyone has ever wanted authoritarianism), the reasons are still real to them. And because their constituency wants authoritarianism, the representative cannot be held accountable for trying to obtain it. That is, in fact, their entire job.

The only way to hold a representative accountable for their actions is to press upon them a constituency that decidedly does not want an authoritarian regime. Once that happens, then and only then can it be determined if they broke the law while doing their job. But until that time, they must be allowed to do their job. To deny it is to deny representation to their constituency, which (for them) would be precisely the authoritarianism they are working for. And if we are willing to participate in authoritarianism to stop authoritarianism, then we have no business stopping it.

-Jason Agne, Iowa City

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Letters: On Hawkeye women's basketball, political accountability