The leaders listen to what the people say too. If the only people to speak up are the "we must do everything we can to protect the children" people, and the "we must give the police any tools they ask for", it's easy for the leaders to forget about the rest.
Or the leaders listen to who pays them. The vocabulary of listening or voting has faded away for the vocabulary of “explaining” or “spreading awareness”, in both of which people are told what they should think. But they also listen, to ensure their explanations are “understood”.
