My father is originally from the small South American nation called Uruguay (east of Argentina, south of Brazil). Back in the 60's and early 70's a Marxist terrorist group ran rampant starting off with the noble idea of robbing banks not of money, but of the black ledger books of corrupt companies in Uruguay. However, they became less stringent with their recruitment ideals and let any and all nutcases into the group allowing for murder and mayhem to become the staple of the Tupamaros. It became so bad that the President of Uruguay at the time allowed the military to take over. The plan succeeded in eliminating the terrorist problem, but at the cost of civil liberties and a military junta that didn't want to let go of the reign of power. For 10 years the military ruled "disappearing" undesirables including my father's Marxist friend.
In the early 80's, the Uruguayan had had enough and stage general strikes that left the ruling military government with two options: step down peacefully without bloodshed or have a long and protracted civil war. Thankfully, the military actually stepped down with no bloodshed reinstating the Constitution and full Democracy.
Today, Uruguayans guard their democracy like it were a sacred duty (which it is). When they have to vote, they do so in large numbers. You can even say they have a more direct democracy, but not total direct democracy that allows for mob rule. Within 10 years they had seen the horrors of being apathetic towards their civic duty and they make sure to drive it into their childrens heads. Perhaps this is a lesson we all need to learn that apathy solves nothing. Shall we allow our own government to trample all over everything we hold sacred and hope for the best or do we take a more proactive stance? I think the answer is far more clear than cloudless day.
Stay vigilant.
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