Last night I saw a post on a friend’s Facebook page saying how disappointed she was in our state government for not protecting our leaders (senators). She was referring tot he fact that in Idaho at least, the legislature is still meeting in person, and not allowing members or staff to teleconference in for the meetings. I am not sure why they aren’t, but they aren’t.

I responded, somewhat callously, that the senators aren’t our leaders, they are our employees. I don’t follow the state senate, I deal with them. I let them know what I expect, as their employer, and hope they do it. But like any high school age employee, state senators kind of do their own thing. And I let them, because they aren’t worth the time or energy to try to control. The same thing goes with the federal government- they work for me, not the other way around.

I was reminded this morning, just now in fact, that there is an imbalance in the way we look at things. I had to re-register my fleet of vans with the state Department of Transportation. I’m a little late- their system is so bass-ackwards that doing it online makes absolutely no sense, and is terrible to work with. Getting a hold of them on the phone can be tricky, and of course, with Covid restrictions in place, it makes it that much harder. So I didn’t get it done right when I was supposed to (apparently before the first of December, but I didn’t even get the forms until the middle of December, and then the holidays got in the way and I sort of forgot about it until yesterday. I get it, I should have been more on top of things. But when trying to get it done, it is so incredibly frustrating to do it…

The lady I talked with on the phone today was very nice and helpful, but reminded me that it was due two months ago, and that I didn’t have to do it via the website, that I could have just emailed the forms in. All true. But I can’t help but feel that she works for me. It isn’t my end in life to make sure the government has the forms and fees it wants, my goal is to serve my customers. Yes, I want the roads to be paved (though there is some improvement needed in that front) and yes, I want to make sure that everyone is “playing fair,” but they work for me, not the other way around.

I remember getting a letter from the IRS once stating that I needed to send in some document or other. I had 3 days to produce the document, and they stated in their letter that they would respond in the next 3-6 months, if they responded at all. What the heck is that? I have to run to make their deadlines, but then they can take their sweet time? That is not how the American government should work. It is a service tot he people of the United States, not the master. The State of Idaho is the servant of the people of the State of Idaho, not the little master. We don’t work for them. They work for us. Remember that.

Elected officials aren’t our leaders, they are our representatives. They collect a paycheck from us, the tax payers. WE the PEOPLE are the bosses. The leaders. The ones in charge. The government, whether federal, state, or city/town produces nothing but headaches and paperwork, bureaucracy. They are stumbling blocks to progress. Not leaders. They have their role, and what they do is somewhat necessary, but they are not the boss.

I’m not sure how to fix this situation, this disconnect between the people and the public servants, those in government. I think it starts with remembering myself that the one who leads me is myself, not the legislators, the governors, not even the President. I lead me. I support my elected officials, but they aren’t my leaders. They are there to represent my interests to the representatives of the rest of the country, who represent their interests. And together they try to come up with a way that helps us all get along together. And it comes with making my interests known to my representatives, and holding them accountable when they don’t fulfill their duties, but serve their own interests. We all need to do the same.