I heartily agree with your sentiments. One of the major problems, at least here that I see with our education system is that CIVICS is no longer taught in our schools
How can one learn how to be a good citizen, one who does ones duty and carries it out to the best of their ability, if one does not know how
I blame a lot of our current lawmakers for this. They seem to adhere to the school of thought that prefers to keep them stupid, so they can pull the wool over their eyes much easier.
Our children barely know how government runs, never mind what it is or what it is supposed to do. They have no idea how to choose a representative. It seems whoever is cuter or has a nicer smile or promises to make someone feel good gets elected. Most of our elected officials whether they be municipal, provincial/state or federal no longer have the backbone required to do what they have historically been mandated to do - REPRESENT THEIR CONSTITUENTS
As long as our citizens do not understand what their role - what their duty is and how to execute that duty, things will not change. Same with Jury Duty. Everyone tries their damnedest to escape, find some reason why they cannot discharge this basic of civic duties.....
We need to somehow electrify our citizenry to become involved, state their opinions and do so on a regular basis. Your example of losing by just one vote, is a perfect example of how one person can actually change the outcome of an election, change how government is run or do almost anything.
Special interest groups, lobbyists and others of their ilk need to be controlled in their access to government. When a few garner more power than the people (by whom the Constitution of both our countries guarantees the right to be heard and to make law), we will end up seeing more of this so-called "totalitarian democracy"
invade our society and eventually destroy our freedoms.
As I have said so many times in my emails, and say it to every politician, student, teacher and citizen I come across:
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, and
whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
If you want to keep all that they have sacrificed - VOTE
Excersise your basic most unalienable right - excercise your franchise. If you don't - be quiet
btw, sometimes the soldier is not just the guy or gal who puts on the uniform, but is Joe and Jo-ann Citizen who stands up for what they believe in!
In God We Trust
All else is but shifting sand.....