Depends on your nomenclature, I've heard US and France's political systems referred to as "flawed democracies". I personally didn't call either a democracy, I think we're past that quite frankly.
If you think seeing through propaganda is “cynicism,” boy, do I have bad news for YOU.
I call cynicism "giving in to desperation instead of acting". I've explained why imho not voting was the least reasonable choice, so far you have failed to reason back. Do you think you can do that ?
J'en parlerai à mon cheval (I'll make sure to tell my horse)
Parle à mon cul, ma tête est malade (Talk to my ass, my head is sick/ill)
Je m'en tamponne le coquillard (no idea how to translate this, but here is a fun explainer, also in french)
Elections might be skewed, they might be giving voters a rather narrow choice, they might depend on who's got the bigger campaign fund, they might not offer ranked choice, yet with all that --they're still one of the most accessible, actionable things the average person can do to control their nation's future. Passing on that is not justifiable, because we should be doing everything we can, and that includes voting. I used to be cynical like you, but then I took an arr I mean, we can't afford that.
This is a reasonable explanation, similar to the ones I write on the spot when attempting to explain things. Made more difficult by the fact many signs barring entry to owned land say "private property" (or some variation on it, at least in France and the US)
hmmm.... over here cows and sheep are fed on banana leaves and some tree I cannot name. I don't know about you but either of these don't float my boat too well
I couldn't say, but I've had my german porn changed to shady pirate websites and it's infuriating