A slew of challengers all claim the City Council incumbents aren't doing enough for the inner-city, but they get trounced, largely by voters in inner-city neighborhoods.

A planning commission member resigns because a unanimous vote by the City Council and a split vote by the Board of County Commissioners were contrary to the commission's recommendations.

Environmental activists accuse county commissioners they disagree with of being corrupt.

Pro-Obama activists express disappointment because the president "hasn't done anything."

I think the common denominator is that democracy is a challenging and difficult form of government. And since the citizenship-skill level of the majority of Americans - and Durham residents - is painfully low, disappointment prevails.

As England's World War II Prime Minister Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst form of government. Except for all the others." The quality of all the other forms of government depends on the skills of a few decision makers. The quality of a democratic government depends on the skills of a lot of citizens.

To quote Pogo: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Many Americans do go to some trouble to develop their citizenship skills by participating on boards, campaigns, leadership training and by reading widely in biographies and other non-fiction about self-governance.

Most Americans, unfortunately, take easier routes. They watch the TV news programs with "balanced" stories that present important issues in a "he said, she said" format that makes only the reporters - and readers - appear wise by staying above the fray. Or they stick to a talk radio show or a blog that reinforces their preconceptions about how foolish or corrupt are those who hold a different view.

Sometimes an American takes the step of being an active citizen by serving on a board or joining a campaign, only to throw in the towel or resort to name-calling when they don't get their way. Or when their lack of any knowledge of history makes them think that a president who gets nearly a billion dollars invested in keeping teachers employed, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, reducing climate disruption, raising vehicle mileage, reducing foreclosures, boosting first-time homebuyers and who will soon pass health reform that will at the very least end the insurance companies' death panels that deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions, hasn't "done anything."

The complaints of the City Council challengers reminded me of the complaints of newcomers to Durham. I often hear about how the condition of such-and-such street is a sign that Durham isn't focused on helping poor neighborhoods. I respond by pointing out that the half-dozen streets leading to that one looked like something from the Third World in the '80s before the city helped rebuild them. To a newcomer, that work would be invisible - unless they had done some homework on the issue before they made their pronouncement.

Democratic self-governance is hard. Name-calling and complaining are easy. If you want to make things better, beef up your skills, listen to someone who disagrees with you without accusing them of corruption, crack open a history book, find some allies who don't look like you. In short, stop being just a "taxpayer" or a "voter" or an "activist." Try being a citizen.