[bsaunder]

I think you make some good points.

When reality diverges from perception (as you and the OP seem to suggest, and I agree), it feels to me there a sort of economic potential energy there that may provide an opportunity for someone to capitalize on. Perhaps we need some scrambling unicorns to pivot and see how they could help improve democracy and level the playing field between the disconnected establishment and the general populace.

As an individual, I frequently sigh at my ability to impact the momentum of things. The world may not be as I'd like it, but I see little I can do about that. I get that small changes by many individuals can have a big impact in the aggregate.

Perhaps what would help would be a social amplifier app that would allow users to plan/schedule and participate in small changes in mass that could send louder social signals to the establishment. Maybe folks would to listen to us more frequently than once every 4 years.

I'm sure there are other opportunities and the devil is in the details. I'm not saying this is easy, but society needs some new tools. The folks here on HN are precisely the right people that should be doing something about this.