I don't vote out of a belief that I am helping you, I vote in the off chance that I might be helping me.
That said, I agree with your assessment. Democracy generally and Representative Democracy as practiced in the US is getting more battered and abused every year. There are no good guys, there are at best bad guys that might do the right thing, even if by accident.
And, I do not know a better system. I can think of multiple changes that would improve ours, but in truth, I don't know one better. More people taking your path would go a long ways to making things better 'for us all'. I deeply agree that fundamental change has to come from the bottom up and won't be an initiative measure to vote on.
Thanks for a marvelous post. I appreciate it.
Thank you! Your comment calls to mind the sentiment of Lysander Spooner, who argued that many people vote as an act of defense out of fear that if someone who disagrees with them votes and wins, they will inevitably be oppressed or harmed by the party that gains power. It's sad that the current system forces people to fear each other and have to fight back through a corrupt institution. Agree that change has to come from the bottom up! :)