And fundamentally, let's stop kidding ourselves that these are democracies anyway - "representative democracy" is a contradiction in terms, and it isn't "broken" but, in fact, operating as intended. Time is running out too fast to divert our limited energies into voter drives for a "lesser of evils" and careerists in power; choosing a master does not make us free; we need direct democracy now. Anything less is sure as hell leading us into the abyss.