A Change of Phrase
In my writing and general speaking, I tend to use the term elected leaders when refering to groups such as federal, local, state government, the house, the senate, etc. The more I think about it, this is not only not the way I see it, it is the wrong way to refer to elected office holders. In some cases they may lead on an issue that is important to me, but even that is not leadership, it is following through on what the people want—what we vote them in to do.
If you want to argue they are leading, well mega-government-mart isn't to a place I want to be. From now on I will try my best to use the term elected servant or public servant. Or if I'm feeling generous elected officials. Here I'm talking about legislators, mayors, the President, senators, and so on. They are placed in positions of power to SERVE the public, not LEAD them. And we should expect that they do just that—LISTEN to the people. Words matter and I'll be doing my part to get this one right.
Cross-posted at Freedom Dogs. Comments welcome.
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