I have it on very good authority—I got it from a guy who promised to talk to me on the condition that I slept him, which I would have done anyway—that some entrepreneurs here in Shalampax are considering starting a new business. It’s only a concept at this point, but, if they go ahead with it, their idea will revolutionize the way democracies around the world work.
In their market research, the entrepreneurs found that in democracies where voting is not mandatory (is it democratic to force someone to make a choice?), there is a general trend toward lower voter participation rates in many places. Clearly, a great many people in those countries believe that voting isn’t worth the trouble.
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A group of self-described “concerned citizens” (who knew we had any in Shalampax?) are expressing outrage over our process of using random selection rather than democratic election to choose our parliamentarians.
I don’t know how seriously to take this group because they haven’t yet given themselves a name. As you know, no group is worth a damn until they have a proper name, preferably one with a catchy acronym, but so be it.
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The government of Shalampax has only just gotten around to announcing that January is National Democracy Month in Shalampax. This designation was made to honor the freedoms, human rights, peace, order, and good government that flows to the people in democratic countries.
Companies in Shalampax are not required to give employees time off to celebrate National Democracy Month. However, in honor of democratic principles, the Parliament of Shalampax has been shut down since the beginning of January and will remain shut down for the remainder of the month. Parliamentarians are expected to celebrate our democratic freedoms in a manner of their choosing during this time.
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