The more there is a need to talk about what democracy means, is an indication of how undemocratic the system is.

Teaching children citizenship in school, wanting everybody involved in the “Big Idea” the “Big society” is proof of the failure of democracy. We understand democracy through the process of learning, not where democracy is squeezed into a lesson plan that stops when the bell rings. Schools should encourage independent critical thought where democracy can grow and develop in ideas properly.

We school our kids in competition rather than developing democracy. It is no wonder democracy is interpreted as – Each is asked to pick some person or group in order to carry out pre-set ideas by voting. The ideas to be carried out usually fail to happen as once in power the cult of personality and political posturing take up the parliamentary and media stage. We are then asked to select another celebrity every four years to repeat the same process.

Democracy is much more involved than that. Democracy means being engaged in the process of making decisions on things that will affect us. By coming to decisions by consensus and keeping as many people happy as possible. Our “democratic” system effectively does the opposite.

As we are seemingly to stupid to do things ourselves, that’s why we pay politicians to do them? But would we give the builder money to work on your house without checking that the work is being done properly? Why do people put so much trust in other kinds of workers we employ, like government workers? Politicians are not personalities, they are paid to do a job, just like the builder, and just like the builder if they do a bad job we can get rid of them. We would no more leave a stranger to carry out work on our house and pay them without checking what they have done. Why do we allow it in government workers?

In a proper democracy we are all experts in our needs and what needs done. We all have a shared stake in what is happening and should have the confidence to do what needs done ourselves. Thats what is supposed to happen in a democracy. Any honest politician would agree.