ABSTRACT
The concept of access to a public sphere is central to any notion of a democratic society. In a real sense, the very notion of access to the public sphere defines the texture of a society’s political fabric. It can be argued that such a sphere exists even in the most repressive regimes, where ideas deemed acceptable by the authorities are debated and discussed openly-and illicit ones whispered. The concept of a public sphere has, however, been the object of considerable slippage and elasticity in use as political, social, and technological circumstances have changed over time. The terrorist events of September 11, 2001, although effective in cultivating a sense of civic pride and patriotism unknown before the attacks, only underlined a trend that had been occurring in the United States for some time, namely, the contraction of the public sphere as a physical place and the resultant exclusion of important members of the citizenry from it.1 Since the attacks, the meaning of stridentpolitical criticism, not to mention the security atmosphere at large public venues, has changed. And as the meaning of the public sphere continues to shift, so does the idea of access to it.
