Error handling systems or smarter users?

Is it only an Indian attitude of expecting the mai-baap sarkar-raj to work for them because of living in years of servitude? Or is it visible elsewhere too?

Shriniwas, writes an angry post on why our parliamentary democratic systems have failed to bring out results. My long-ish comments and the following long-ish conversation are fodder for debate, so here is an attempt to hijack the topic and bring some traffic to my blog ;-).

Cutting to a minimum gist, the point to be made is that while it is easy to blame and find fault with systems when they don't work, one doesn't realize that it is not the system that has failed but faulty human usage. You wish that the (of-by-for)-people democracy that you love so much is a neat machine with all error handling mechanisms. Sadly it isn't, but it is among the better ones you have around, so live with it and make it work. Working with it does not start and end with you pressing a button once in a few years and leaving some others to run it hoping they'd do a good job and blaming them when they don't.

Part from one of my comments: "(the elected representatives) represent YOU. If you dont keep an eye on them, or meet them or lobby for your causes, how can you expect them to work from their own will? How many of us know our local corporator or have spoken to him about local development? Or gone to the MP and asked how much he has spent from the MPLADS scheme? Or asked your local MLA about the status of the govt hospital in your area?"

Ask, enquire, petition, question, lobby, protest, get involved. Stop whining, and start a revolution.