On Democracy
People in the West frequently complain of the state of politics, be it so-called "late-stage capitalism", critical failures of border policy, problems with the setup of government, local issues of policing and infrastructure, and so on. They seem convinced of collapse, regardless of political lean. Political doomerism is the new zeitgeist, and has come to define 21st century political discourse.
However: we live in democratic nations! My own opinions of democracy aside, the people's sentiment is clear: they implicitly admit, through what their beliefs entail, that they do not trust government of the people, by the people, for the people. The growing extremism of the populace is clarified completely through this lens.
Do they forget that our current political situation is what they and their fellow citizens voted for? Do they forget that this is what they have chosen? Of course not: it was merely the choice of the "wrong" people - nothing to be said about their own voting efforts or political engagement. It is never their own fault, nor their own responsibility. Take everyone's opinions in totum and it seems no-one is capable of engaging in democracy correctly!
If we live in a late-stage anything, then citizens of the West have made it clear: it is late-stage democracy.