Not infrequently I have the interrogating thought, "Do you realize we are only a democracy in one aspect of our lives?" 

How many days of the week do you work?
Five.
How many hours per day?
Eight.
When you go home from work is the governing of your household done democratically?
NO!
How often do you vote?
Once maybe twice every four years?

"We're a democracy". We are forgiven if we act surprised. "Oh yeah, we are!"

"Would you like more democracy?"
"Sure! Democracy's a good thing. ..."What do I have to do?"
"Like at work. You'd have a say, a vote, in how the company operates."
"Uh...Nah, I think a company should be run more like a dictatorship. I think the country would be better run like a business, too!"

In ONE aspect of our lives and only once in a great while we are a democracy. We are forgiven if democracy is so restricted and infrequent that we never give a thought to it except on those rare occasions when we vote.  Ninety-nine percent of our lives we live in an authoritarian system. We are forgiven if we think, which we hardly ever do, "What would be the difference in my day-to-day life if this one teeny-weeny part was authoritarian, too?" "As long as I still have my job and I and my family are safe, who cares?"