Can Democracy Be Seeded?

I was raised in a home where we would discuss things at the dinner table and hold a vote. Would we go to the little lake up the road tomorrow and picnic and swim? Or stay home and work on projects? What is the best name to call the new dog?

When grown, I entered the world expecting my opinions to be taken seriously. I discovered that peoples' opinions weren't taken seriously. I became an activist.

Nowdays, in my email comes a dozen petitions a day to be signed, sent from Credo and a slew of do-it-yourself petition generator sites.

Activists abound. Activism is alive and well. The forces for democracy that produce democratic government are alive and well. 

Suppose every family had discussions in which everyone's opinion was heard and where a majority ruled? What would the children become? Every child would have unmet expectations for democracy.

America tried to mandate a democratic government for Iraq in a world where people were comfortable with dictatorship. Didn't work very well. Democracy can't be built top-down. 

But if the yearning for democracy can be built, perhaps democracy will come. Perhaps the survival of democracy can be ensured.