Seems that about half of Americans don't understand the meaning of democracy

[MineralMan]

15. The thing is that our nation has been almost evenly divided

politically for a very long time. What that means is that democracy reflects that division. Sometimes, one side wins. Sometimes, it's the other side that wins.

Both sides are made up of people, each of whom, ostensibly, has the right to vote in elections. That's the very definition of democracy.

But, we don't live in a democratic country. Instead, we live in a country that is a representative democratic republic. People don't vote on issues; they vote for people who will vote for them on issues. That's the structure that is set up in our Constitution.

So, what you are describing is simply the norm. It is how this country works. Sometimes one side wins. Sometimes the other side wins.

That is the bottom line of our system of government. It is up to us to convince people that our side should win. Individually, we just get one vote apiece. We can gather together to convince others to vote the way we want. If we fail to do that, the other side will win.

It's pretty simple, really. Truly it is.