Well, maybe it's time to get to the root cause of all our problems with government, the economy, the social system and just about every other societal issue. Democracy as we know it has failed!!
You got it right - DEMOCRACY HAS FAILED!
The democratic process as it has existed for about the past 200 years has finally proven itself to be a foolish error and needs to be radically reformed. In fact, it needs to be restored to its original form and concept.
One of the earliest treatises on democracy was found in the form of Plato's 'Republic'. In this historical classic, Plato theorized about a society where people voted to select their leaders. He did not, however, suggest that everyone should be allowed to vote. quite the contrary, he had somewhat narrow restrictions laid out as to who should vote and who should not.
For several thousand years after that, the democratic model existed in minor forms here and there and took shape in limited fashion in various forms of governments and institutions. One of the oldest consistently democratic processes can be found in the conclaves to elect the Roman Pontiff - hardly an example of universal suffrage.
The simple reality is that the entire intention was that people who had certain qualifications would be entitled to vote, not just anyone who met age and birth requirements. The requirements most often took the form of property ownership, sometimes class membership and sometimes even familial requirements. Whatever the mechanism, democracy was designed with the intention hat voters would meet certain requirements. Indirectly, those requirements usually ended up involving education. Those who owned property usually had education, the same was true for certain classes of society and and familial links often translated to being part of the nobility.
There was good reason for this and it was not simply to maintain power among the elite. It was not perceived as being reasonable to have people who had no understanding about the issues to be making choices about the leadership. The idea was that those who understood the issues that were facing the country would choose the leaders.
Well, where are we today? How many of us understand the economic troubles facing our country? How many truly fathom the complexities of the financial mechanisms that drive our economies and ultimately our individual situations? the answer - not many. And let me be crystal clear, I don't understand most of it either! I have a bachelor's and a master's degree, I consider myself to be relatively intelligent, and I try to stay current, but beyond the theoretical macro concept, I do not understand the complexities and the details of our economic situation.
Yet, I have the vote!!! I get to have a say in the choice of a leader!! so where does that lead us? Well, I think that has become obvious. It leads us to a place where the potential leaders don't have to talk about the real issues and their proposals and ideas, because most of us don't get it. So what do they talk about? Drivel! Pure, unmitigated drivel! They stand up and talk about oversimplified things that have little or no relevance to the real challenges facing us. After all, they have to talk to us about something that we will get, or think we get. Would we vote for them otherwise.
Imagine what the debates would sound like if only those who had a good understanding of the economy had the right to vote! Could you see any of the candidates saying 99% of what they have currently been saying. BTW this goes for both parties.
Our political system is broken because we have people making decisions who have no business making decisions - namely us the voters. The national issues are too complex for most of us to understand and fathom. Oh, I think most of us could handle local municipal elections because we all have a much better handle on the impact of putting a traffic light at the intersection of 3rd and Washington. Many of us, but not as many would be able to handle the State elections, because, again, the issues aren't as big and as complex. But federal elections!! $14 trillion dollar debt management! Multi-trillion dollar GDP! 300 million people to govern!! There aren't very many people who could possible understand the real issues that are involved. Consequently, there can't be very many people who are qualified to vote.
I'm just sayin'.