I’ve always tried to tell my SO this, but she’s been skeptical. Now, we’re renting a smaller apartment while renovating our bath, and she absolutely detests having only one sink basin!

Have they considered not sending a bunch of kids to get maimed in proxy wars on the other side of the Earth?

This is exactly what happens with democratic societies

No. This is what happens when you have two sides, both too large to really represent anyone, battling for a sliver of majority using increasingly diverging views and then exercising as much power as they can before the roles flip again.

In an actual democracy representatives of the people, with many differing views, sit down together and decide case by case on a solution that most can be happy with.

Someone will always disagree with any decision when we live in a large society, but a functioning democracy is the closest thing we have ever come to making sure that as many as possible are happy (and more importantly get a say).