Gia

Thank you for giving so much commentary. Hopefully I will be discussing your main points.

First off, protest is a necessary part of western democracy. It is a relief valve, giving the citizens the belief that they can effect change. It is also a weather bell for politicians to consider the mood of the people. Protest is one of the many "institutions" to make democracy work as well as it does.

However, I am advocating for a different kind of democracy. I would still allow protest, but I believe it will not be used much if this new way is properly implemented. So I was just making a point that when protest is being used, it means the elected officials are somewhat out of touch.

Compromise is better than partisanship. I would say one reason for the vaulting of the USA was its ability for compromise up until a couple of decades ago. Nowadays, elected politicians need to be partisan, vote the party line rather than try to find a deal with the "other side."

In my advanced version of democracy, "compromise" will give way to "consultation" as a means to finding the better solutions. Definitely no partisanship in my TDG.

Political labels are not the best way to classify voters. Even using yourself as example, you have values of several different ideologies, so it would be hard to classify you. And you seem to understand that one often changes perspectives when life gives new experiences. Most people are hard to pin down with a traditional label.

D's and R's are mostly about winning elections, less about implementing an ideology. In fact, I would say directly or indirectly rewarding the "base" is more important than the stated ideology. Do not expect the parties to be more concerned about the society they govern.

While it is amazing at how the USA grew, it came a great expense. Slavery and oppression of aboriginal cultures litter the history. Hegemony of other countries was far too common, just so the American plebes could have their bananas and copper--and not riot in the American streets. Until this history is acknowledged, USA is going to move backwards.