Vermont's legislature approved gay marriage this week. Depending on your point of view (cave man or modern man), this is either a step forward or a step backward. But buried below all the struggle and drama, something truly remarkable happened in Montpelier.

Representatives did their jobs in a representative democracy.

Though hailing from a conservative district, representative Robert South changed his original position and supported the bill after 228 constituents directed him to support the bill and 198 urged him to oppose it. He didn't look ahead at his own political future and cringe at the wave of conservative money that will attempt to defeat him next time. He didn't focus on how the vote would affect fundraising or his future in his party. In fact, Mr. Smith commented in the NY Times that he very well might lose his seat over the vote ("I probably sealed my fate").

He put the expressed interests of his constituents ahead of his own interests. This is exactly what is supposed to happen in representative democracy -- representatives reflecting the majority will of the people, not their own political interests.

It takes guts to do your job in a state or federal congress in this era of talk radio, Fox News, and assasination-by-blog. America lacks many of the things its people need and want because so few in Congress have the courage to stand up to corporate money (though admittedly, when we the people fall for misinformation and emotion-tapping campaign attack ads we don't help the courageous to remain in Congress -- we let ourselves be scared and abandon the people we need at our own peril).

The men and women like Robert South are true heroes -- regardless of what you think about gays and marriage, you need to recognize that the integrity of unselfish representatives is the only thing that can keep a teetering democracy from morphing into the political equivalent of a drug cartel family.

So send Mr South a note of support. Thank him for having integrity in a world of wheeling and dealing sleeze. Applaud him for doing his job. And then go out and buy a jug of maple syrup.