Since when was it a good idea to "believe what you are told"? I hear this lament all the time; "I did what I was told and ran up a lot of debt getting a degree, now I can't get a good enough job". In my day "they" all told me to go fight in Vietnam...I did a little research and decided that was very bad advice.

If you want a better understanding of "democracy" I suggest you dive into local politics, attend some city or county council meetings, maybe even work in a state senate race. There's a whole lot of important self governing in which you can participate directly, possibly find out that the important stuff is decided by those who show up.