iCongress

Given their ubiquity, one would think Americans no longer can live without the iPhones, iPads, BlackBerrys, smart phones and assorted electronic devices that collectively provide the chirps, whistles, clicks, beeps and other noises that have become the soundtrack of contemporary life. Not so. The gadgets, to be sure, are extremely useful, but they remain a convenience not a necessity in the truest sense of the word. Sensible limits on their use are wise.

Indeed, rather than finding ways to expand the arenas in which the use of electronic devices is acceptable, there appears to be a trend toward limiting their use. It's a movement that should be encouraged in the name of public politeness and propriety.

Not everyone, of course, agrees with that assessment. Some actively oppose it. That's certainly the case for the new Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. They've proposed a rule that will lift the current ban on such devices on the floor of the House. They've wrapped up the proposal in language that suggests they don't want to trounce tradition, but a careful reading of the proposal suggests otherwise.

House members don't need additional distractions. There already are enough. Voters are right to wonder if their elected representative spends more time on personal business and political issues than in serving those who put them in office.

The chamber has operated without the distractions of electronic devices for more than two centuries. It should continue to do so. The proposal to allow the gizmos on the House floor should be defeated.

- Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times