No, the title is not a typo: I mean the opposite of the quip many people use after elections: "If you don't vote, you have no right to complain."

The romantic view of democratic government is the idea that we all come together, display our values and give our say, and through the miracles of aggregation we receive a responsible government that somehow reflects those values. And for the next four years, we can happily spend our time on what really matters in life, while our appointed representatives carefully and competently steward our shared public goods in the best interest of our nation.

If you didn't sneer while reading the previous paragraph, you have either never participated in a democracy or you are in for a brutal shock once you lift your nose from that fairytale-like view.