I had an English teacher who had few redeeming qualities who claimed ancient Greece to have been the only democracy to have existed. He didn't like my response which was "how can there be a democracy when there are slaves & women who don't have the right to vote?"

@FrayedBear
True.
Democracy was a system developed for the election of governance in a city state with a very small population, that relied on on an educated elite class to keep them and those considered lesser, safe and comfortable so they could be of better service to said elite.
Now when you try to apply that to populations of millions or even a billion on the premise that all people are equally capable of making sound and informed decisions and will not succumb to a cult of personality, popularity or the promises of personal interest you will have something that is just as far from the ideal of democracy as the original form was.

When you have a population of a couple of thousand, voting for ten independent men to represent them, it is likely that they will be somewhat representative of the electorate.

What we have now are a couple of hundred elite (ie Rich NOT necessarily educated)people, under one leader, organised in to two internally cooperating parties, one of which will command a ruling majority.
Therefore at best your government is going to be representative of 50% of the adult population if that.
The other half is in effect an oppressed mass lumbered with a government they did not vote for and who does not represent them, because they are effectually powerless.

@LenHazell53 Yes, there are consequences to reporting the truth, but not "only" in my opinion.

@GoodMan my mistake I meant to type inexpedient