Democracy is based on government by the people for the people. Wonderful concept, and I haven't yet seen anything to beat it, flawed as it might be, there is no such thing as a benign dictatorship. However, we are in a new age. Of hype, propaganda, media , interconnectivity, internet highway, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, lies abounding, half truths, insubstantiated claims written or broadcast designed by agenda groups and individuals (governmental or otherwise) and targeted to appeal to individual self interest. How to separate the sh*t from the shinola? You can't anymore. There is "new study" about every two hours from some so called scientific organization that has been funded by a specific government arm and told to make the findings fit the agenda. So called "statistics" and polls drool into buckets every day and ovewhelm us into thinking a certain way. Hey! if 70% of the population thinks this way, surely you would be a dope to think otherwise? If any independent scientific group comes up with a discovery that does not suit the government du jour's playbook, it is quashed and made to look ridiculous. And any hopes of funding are deep sixed. New is no longer news. Every news media outlet is now partisan and biased and intent on promoting their own agenda. There is no such thing now as a Walter Cronkite reading the "news" in a flat and unbiased voice, just for the common education and information. Make of it as you will. Now we have : MSNBC, owned by a large corporation, GE, who stands to benefit financially from promoting the current government. We have the Toronto Star (Red Star) and CBC in Canada, subservient to the Liberal Party; there is Fox News in America..I love this channel, because it is conservative based. But what did I just say? It is conservative based. Everyone of us who cares enough to become involved; to write, to be proactive, to join organizations, to make our voices heard, are still just subscribing to our own agenda as prescribed by the bloody propaganda machines in effect right now. We all think we are doing the right thing..liberals, libertarians, conservatives, communists, socialists, fascists... But in the end, we the people are sheeple. Cleverly manipulated to think we are serving the truth, not just our own selfish ends. well, wasn't that depressing | 
