I'm not so sure we live in a Democracy anymore. Peggy Noonan wrote an article suggesting we live in a 2 tiered society - we have people who make the Policies and the people who have to live with the Policies (the Policed). The Policy Makers set policies to protect their own interests, which don't necessarily align with the general population. We're at a point now where the population is taken out of the decision making process. IMO I don't think we can call the US a democracy anymore.