The irony is the good parts of "democracy" aren't actually the democratic bits at all, but rather a basic respect for civil liberties (a.k.a. natural laws) which are subject to neither democratic votes nor authoritarian decrees. The key is not to lose sight of the fact that what the majority wills is not always
right.
This is why attempts to impose democracy from outside tend to fail. Giving people the vote doesn't automatically lead to respect for their fellow citizens' civil liberties, which is much more fundamental.