Democracy = mob rule?

There's a quote about democracy really being mob rule. Not sure I agree with it as the statement implies action, and the situation we are faced with at the moment implies the opposite. The current system feels to me like it's trying to wrap us up in cotton wool; a nanny state which discourages free thinking and innovation.

The petrol embargo in 2000 felt like a hint, a spark, the sound of a few people waking up to smell the coffee, and it almost achieved something. We seem to belong to a country with a governmental system that, once elected, appears to have little accountability for it's actions until the next election. Take the situation now. Europe want to take a diplomatic stance and attempt to cure the root of the problems in Iraq, the US wants to follow past form by starting a war of aggression and bombing the shit out of them, and the UK is supporting them. The hints that it all points to oil reserves makes the situation even more sickening, yet there seems to be no way for public opinion to sway the decisions of our leader to isolate us even more from our closest neighbours.

I wish there was a way which educated the public further about important problems, made them consider the pros and cons and feel responsible for decisions made by their elected representatives. Would holding national referendums on selected decisions help? I'm not sure. The whole country feels unmotivated when it comes to matters of politics and governments. Perhaps it's because we no longer feel empowered; helpless to stop the resolute force that we carelessly nominate each term.