You are missing a point. Democracy can be progressive or regressive. The use of a referendum to build straight majorities brings together the extreme left and the extreme right and that brings 55% of the votes like in Great Britain with the absurd Brexit or the referendum in Italy that defeated the government standing between the two extremes. In 2005 a referendum did the same thing on a project of a European constitution; extreme left + extreme right + a little bit of socialist support and that made 55%. The referendum today is the very tool extremes use to impose havoc and upheaval and if they win then it is the confrontation of the two extremes, and good morning Charlottesville multiplied by 100 or 1,000. And it would not be a dozen of school shootings but we will move to a school shooting a day per state.