I was already totally over the idea of voting a week ago, & wanted my old favourite ads back on TV, but as it came closer to the day I was expected to tramp up to the community centre to prove I hadn't died since the last such event, I got to thinking about democracy (as you do).
A certain proportion of the people (hopefully more than half, even if indirectly) will get their wish & the people they support will get the chance to have the policies of the political party they (not the voters) belong to be presented before a parliament which also contains representatives of the lesser portion of the population (those representatives also mostly belonging to a political party that their supporters do not).
The object of the game is that those who have the majority can simply say "this is what we'll do", & those who don't say "I wish you wouldn't, but there's nothing I can do about it", & this goes on for a few years, & then the roles might reverse.
Sure, there's a lot more bitching & moaning, kicking & screaming, & other pre-schooler-esque entertainments along the way, all being televised to the bemused or frustrated populace by those who are now simply reporters (there are so few journalists left), scrambling to be "first" with the news that everyone read on Twitter hours before.
Fortunately, this process (electioneering, at least), only consumes a month or two, & we can get back to complaining about all politicians, rather than trying to defend some favoured ones as simply being misunderstood.
Life goes on. Democracy drains the energy of the soul & the public purse. Nothing really changes (except for the relative position of caricatures in cartoons).
It's interesting how much you can glean about a process that you've lost interest in. The only alternative is a radical shake up of the system; & let's face it, if there's one thing the voters don't like, it's actual change.
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