I don’t think there is a moral reason against direct democracy. You just need enough people to get on board with the idea. But in america the Republicans would loose a lot of power, so they won’t vote for it.

Elected officials are relatively reliable. Maybe not for needs, but for wants. Biden for example made increasing demands of Israel, as popular opinion (of his voterbase) shifted. Sadly nobody cares about smaller issues, so there isn’t really pressure to change e.g. right to repair. Maybe on local level smaller stuff can change.

Politics is so contentious, because the algorithms feed us different realities. If I was reading conservative news 24/7 I might also start thinking that climate change doesn’t exist, the gays are coming for my children etc.

There is similar stuff on the left, just not as widespread. Democratic voters are on average moderate CNN-watching boomers.

No idea how to fix this. Similar issues are starting here in Germany, but a bit less. I think the “Tagesschau” and similar news are probably a big reason Germany is relatively moderate compared to others.