Is democracy failing?

I've been thinking a great deal on this question: what has become of the word so dear to everyone, 'democracy'? It strikes me at moments when I don't understand how people can be so blind to the injustices perpetrated on other human beings by individuals or political parties. I think it is the frailty of human mind: "self-interest". This thing in itself can't be a problem. It's a law of nature that allows an individual to grow, learn, adapt, innovate and even to contribute. The problem where I think starts is when the boundaries of this self-interest starts narrowing down, up to the point that an individual thinks of nothing but his/her personal interests, even if it comes at the expense of the other's interests!


When this happens, it becomes easy for the political parties to play with the public: to pit people against people while they enjoy the benefits that the current "democratic" system offers to those who are in power. And what about the people who are away from it? Who do not fall into this violence? Hardly is there any voice from these apolitical ones. And when they speak, they limit themselves to petty regional politics or to local-level administration only. They almost never discuss issues that really matter, the policies that the govt after Govt. follow. This becomes a major plus point for the powerful. They tend to exploit this situation.

We have such examples where the parties and individuals get away with crimes, murders and genocides. Improve the administration, make it more business-friendly, and there you go. Almost no one is interested in finding out about the crimes they had committed earlier. Some of the influential would even try not to get the truth out as it might disturb the stable environment so needed for the business. And many are simply happy with the "freedom" they think they are getting. This departure from the reality is partly due to the skewed and manipulated reporting of the main-stream media. The misrepresentation and outright lies about the different communities living in the country by movies has also played its part.


There are also those, the tiny minority, who understand what democracy means, who refuse to give in to the powerful and who refuse to accept every piece of news they get from the corporate media. What happens to them? Silenced! Killed! Raped! or simply Ignored! Still some are fighting. Some fight in the literal sense. They pick up arms to make their voices so loud that they cannot be ignored. Do they still get their right? As far as it can be seen, no! There is a major war taking place in the heartland of the country. Villages are being burnt, forests are being cleared, and people are being left homeless, their livelihoods destroyed.

What happens to such a "democracy"? Can it be called a democracy in the first place? If yes, then what is left of it today? Is democracy just about maintaining vote banks? Is it failing?? What is missing that is so essential to the very functioning of a democracy?