Election Day is 1 day per year

Election Day is one (1) day per year. What are people to do the other 364 days?

I believe that there is a growing sense of powerlessness at being taught and told that we live in a representative democracy, but yet in reality having little to no power or control over what issues and policies are being addressed -- or more often, ignored -- in Washington, D.C.

We live in a society that seems to be dominated by a ruling class controlled by a minority party that lacks the mandate of a majority of Americans. How is this democracy?

So, for anyone who believes in democracy, what are we to do for the 364 days per year other than Election Day? This is a serious question, for which I'm very interested in finding answers. How are we to best put our time, energy, and resources to really support, and better yet strengthen, democracy in our nation, rather than merely sit as passive consumers of media and social media, perhaps feeling pissed or frustrated from time to time, but not really actively doing anything about it?