The primary fault lies directly with the American people (in aggregate). They have CHOSEN to listen to the gibberish spooned out to them by the media and politicians. Even most children know it’s bullshit and the adults do their own children a disservice by going along with it - teaching their children that it’s hopeless to fight what the Media and politicians are telling you to do.

Democracy requires the populace to be educated and engaged. And that doesn’t mean educated and engaged with the gibberish they dish out to us. And that doesn’t mean jumping on the gossip and gibberish hamster wheel and voting based on that every two years. Otherwise, we get what we deserve. Politicians will not lift a finger to do what “is right” for the populace, unless we engage with them through organizing activism, giving money to the right NGO’s and posting with logic and an open mind

But of course that’s too much work for many people and is too boring. I was a lobbyist, and they used to laugh at how totally clueless the average person was about the way politics really works. I’ve been to hearings and sessions where people gather to comment / debate on drafting policy and laws. It’s tedious and it takes time. And people need to go there every day and fight it out with the paid lawyers and lobbyists. And anybody representing “the people” has to be talented, smart, motivated, organized and has to get paid. Who is going to pay them? Expecting politicians to “do the right thing” while lobbyists control the dialogue and the rest of us are feeding the gossip machine and watching stupid video clips incessantly while posting our complains from our couch over social media…is not realistic.

Sadly, the evidence shows that democracy doesn’t work. We have demonstrated that. It’s our fault.