Karen democracy is the best form of government that has been created so far in human history. a system in which everyone over 18 is able to vote and therefore have a say in how the country is run is fairer than one where power is in the hands of a small group of people. living in a democracy means you have more control over your own life. it’s infuriating when people – often young people – say there’s no point in voting because it doesn’t change anything. that’s obviously not true. the local, state, and national governments we elect are always making proposals and passing laws that affect people’s lives, either for better or worse. we should take a look at the history books and remember that huge numbers of people around the world have fought and died for democracy. we should value our vote and think hard about how best to use it. there’s no excuse for apathy. andy what do we actually mean by “democracy”? going out and voting once every few years – is that it? in most so-called democracies, the important decisions are made by a small group of people at the top of the political party in power – we, the voters, don’t have any direct influence. also, you can’t say we live in a full democracy, when the information we receive at election time is so limited. for one thing, the party with the most money can usually get its message across more easily than its opponent. and then there’s the media, which has a lot of influence and is generally biased in favor of one party, making sure most voters don’t see the full picture. actually, though, i’m not sure how well democracy can address what is the probably going to be the biggest issue in future – the environment. if industrialized countries like ours don’t start slowing down their consumption of the world’s resources, we’re probably heading for catastrophe. would people vote to avoid that, or are most of us too selfish and too addicted to our current lifestyle? sometimes i think the only solution will be if we are forced to change, which suggests a more authoritarian form of government. it’s not in criticizing “so-called” democracies, what does andy say about decision-making? how does that compare with what karen says about other forms of government?