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If you want the leadership of a pride of lions, you will have to take down the incumbent chief. We have never heard of disgruntled bees attempting to elect a new queen. And despite some cute, animated portrayals, we all know that ants are some of the most savage creatures when it comes to political change - and they never use ballot boxes.

 You humans invented me, Democracy, because you didn't truly believe in natural selection. Fine, because I was born out of the belief that many heads are better than one, and to serve many needs is better than serving just one man's desire. Let's just say that while the initial purpose was noble, you all failed to make it stay that way.

 How you went from a man serving multiple needs to many men serving a single need, I can never know. The best I can guess is that you only see in me what you want to see. Nobody has ever seen me as a whole. As a result, a tool for peace has become a weapon of war.

 Let me tell you one thing straight: Goodness is not what "more people" say it is. I'm just a barometer, and that's why I need the help of several other tools. You can't hold a ballot on whether a suspect is a real murderer. If a popular priest is accused of fraud, he could easily be set free after a referendum. And while we are at it, why didn't the United States, my biggest representative, call for a global vote on whether it should invade Iraq?

 No offence to those who sacrificed their lives, but to die for me is relatively easy. To live with me is something different. Of course, there have been some fairy-tales about people coming together and getting me as a reward for their campaign, but your problem is that you always stop right there. Once you have me, I'm often treated like a fantasy fulfilled. This is where the bees, lions and ants laugh at you.

 I'm an ideal. You can't put me on the shelf, show me off to the world and hope everything is going to be great. I need to be fostered and cherished all the way, without fail. An election is only the first step, so if you think it is everything, you are probably doomed from the start. Animals never vote, but it's not the voting that separates you from them. It's what you do afterwards.

 If you are willing to die for me, don't die for the right to vote or the right to have your vote accepted, because that is not even half the battle. If you are ready to die, do it for what gets me going. Give me transparency, effective checks and balances, free press and good governance and, I guarantee you, there will be no need to hit the streets every two years.

The trick is how you can achieve all of these without spawning hatred. Division can be constructive, but throw in hatred and you will have all kinds of movements with "Democracy" attached to their names fighting for anything but that. Granted, this system requires you to make people hate your opponents, simply because it's much harder to win it by making people love you, but be careful. When you try to make people hate your opponents, see that it's still within the rules of the game. Once you make people hate each other, you have betrayed me.

Most importantly, I was created to promote peace, not war. You can die in the name of Democracy or for Democracy. Just make sure it's really worth it. Watch out if any individual's name is associated with me because that was never the original idea. Be very careful if you are made to hate a stranger just for the colour of the shirt he wears or the opinions he harbours.

I was meant to make you understand that man and co-exist with him. Forget the election, the politicians, and debate on who has the right to form a government for a minute. The whole idea is about you and that man. If you can't live with him, who will look just like one of your brothers, colleagues or friends when he takes off that shirt, I don't stand a chance where you are. And in that case, please at least give me some honour. Don't ever say you are dying for me while in fact you are putting me away.