Sadly we still place badges, emblems and tribes above rational thought and common sense, democracy was always there to keep the mob happy while they top pillage off the productivity of the mob! The word democracy feels good, and that's all it is, a feeling when none of us are really practising it from top to bottom..
I honestly don't even see how we break this cycle, I see so many unwilling to listen or learn and I guess that's how empires eventually fall with everyone willingly walking off the cliff together