Virtue, Terror, and The False Revolutionary in Our Current Political Climate

When reading Robespierre's "On the Moral and Political Principles of Domestic Policy," I made note of a few sections that  found interesting.
First, I found myself comparing it to Machiavelli when he talks about the use of terror. He finds that virtue (which he defines as love of the country) and terror are fundamentally tied to one another. If not virtuous, one is corrupt. The government should defend their virtue by any means, including the use of terror, which he equates to justice. He proposes using it in order to police the people and defend the creation of a new government. Machiavelli defended the use of cruelty in order to keep the state secure and efficient. It is better for a leader to be disliked if it is for the better of the people.
I also took note of Robespierre's description of the False Revolutionary. He described this character as someone who is moderate or insanely patriotic, depending on the circumstances. This is a character who is often hypocritical and conforms to the ideas that are most beneficial to himself. This reminded me of the many people (especially politicians) we have today who attempt to please as many as possible by giving vague answers and not providing solutions.
Finally, I found concern in the line, "Democracy perishes by two kinds of excess: the aristocracy of those who govern or the people's scorn for the authorities whom the people itself has established" (8). This seemed to be the most relatable circumstance. While the US may be labeled as a democracy, it could certainly be considered an aristocracy because those who hold power are some of the wealthiest in the nation. We also fulfill the second kind of excess, in which we are currently in a situation in which many are unhappy with the presidential election, even though he was selected by the process we have emplaced. The US has both excesses, signs of a perishing democracy. By these standards, the election created a sort of revolution in which the people of the United States are afraid and unsatisfied, but how can we overcome this? How can we save our democracy?