Empowerment isn't getting your own way. Democracy isn't majority rule. I am part of a generation that is getting married much later. This means there is a much bigger gap between when you are in the 'if you live under my roof, you obey my rules' stage, and the joint decision making of two people with no majority. This 'The People' nonsense makes me laugh, because I have never met a 'The People'. The only time anyone has ever used that phrase in my hearing distance has been when they have been trying to take the moral highground (their view patronisingly represents the underdogs), or when they have recently won an election. Where elections are the equivalent of turning up for an exam you hadn't studied for, and putting a cross next to a badly worded question. Marriage is the family you choose, and even then building a life together requires the hard work of making joint decisions. Empowerment and Democracy are developing a co-operative understanding of each other's values, skills, knowledge, motivations and life. Empowerment and Democracy are walking together, and genuinely caring about the shared journey.
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