Actually, if you go through the Federalist Papers you'll see that the US system was set up to deal with the fact that most people aren't especially politically engaged nor especially well-informed. Strictly speaking, it's not a democratic system - it relies on having appointed and/or insulated institutions checking the frequently elected ones. But that's a discussion for another day. I don't think there is any way to force people to pay more attention to the Senate than to NASCAR, nor do I think it desirable to do so, because politics by its nature creates conflict.
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plato was an enemy of democracy--he opposed it at every level--the republic is a little allegory written by an opponent of democracy, rooted in the assumption--which i know you share--that there are natural hierarchies which distinguish folk and that democracy--somehow--presupposes that folk are all equal---plato's counter is that hierarchies of ability undercut the idea of equality at the level of form.
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What on earth led you to think I believe in natural hierarchies? All I have ever said is that different people are good at different things, that their circumstances change over the course of their lives, and that children need not be prisoners of their upbringing. How does that equate to a belief in natural hierarchies? Heck, given that my ancestors were pretty damn downtrodden for centuries, based on who they were, it would be extremely curious for me to have any such view.