I do not disagree with your first part. The second part, I would argue has been proven false. Voting changes nothing, and I dare say that were voting capable of changing anything, it'd be illegal. Obama and Trump both said they were antiwar and would end war, neither did. All of the Presidents of my life time have spoken against large deficit spending except for Clinton and Biden, and hilariously, only Clinton ever made any real progress on that front. The people are generally against the drug war, no change. The people are generally against mass incarceration, no change. The people are generally against corporate/government collusion, no change. The people have generally been against bailouts, no change.

Oh we're 100% on the same page. I whole heartedly believe the ideals behind democracy are meant to keep power in check, but we lost that before I was born.

I'd argue that I've never truly lived in a democracy, but I hope to one day. It's a system I would fight for if there were actually a semblance of a movement willing to stand up and say enough is enough. So far though I've been a bit sad, or maybe just disappointed, to see that the vast majority of our people don't seem interested in democracy, liberty, or individual freedoms.

Most people only “believe” in democracy when they’re on the winning side of an election. Later, when the elected individual doesn’t live up to his/her campaign promises everyone seems to have amnesia and they go right back to the polls.