Direct democracy was never going to work, and the founders of the United States knew this.
Europeans believed only a monarchy could work, and direct democracy would lead to a fractured tribal unification and warfare constantly kicking out rulers. Still, if you mediate the populaces’ concerns with a fair checks and balances system, you could have a "representative democracy."
Alexis de Tocqueville remarks that because every citizen understood they had a role to play, they were quick to respond without waiting for governmental authority or interference.
However, as power aggregates institutionally politics, capitalism, and bureaucracy have increased authoritative reach. They have begun regulating everything, choking out civilian action. It is an oddly familiar regression to a monarchy or totalitarian state, leaving the citizens to feel more than abandoned without agency but actively thwarted.
Your role is no longer to be a good citizen but to mitigate your eventual punishment for exuding any communal spirit or participatory impulse.
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