Leaders or Followers

A comment by one Kiashu in the Oil Drum: "As to our elected representatives, the thing to remember is that they're not actually leaders - they're followers. They follow public opinion. Even the unelected ones have limits, Hitler could not have converted Germany to Islam, nor Stalin made everyone speak French. But in a democracy they follow the public, not the other way around. So if we want change we must change ourselves - and the elected guys will follow along reluctantly."
Worth keeping in mind. Part of the frustration I feel about the US government is that so-called political leaders aren't, in my humble opinion, leading effectively. Like many people, I suspect, I find it much easier to carp about how poorly they are doing than to accept, as Kiashu points out, that they are not really leaders, but followers, and they are following what they sense is the prevailing public opinion, or at least the prevailing opinion of their constituents.
"So if we want change, we just change ourselves." I kinda wish Kiashu hadn't put it that way. It really is easier to criticize the politicians, or the people who elected them, than to turn
the lens inward. And really, what the hell can I do about Guantanamo and the torture monkeys who want more Guantanamos, except to rant and rave? Changing ourselves sounds very new age to me. Meditate? Chant? Pray? Dialog? Blog? Eat less and exercise more?
And what exactly is it about me (or you) that needs to change? Maybe this is the time for a New Year's resolution: Think deeply on this.
LP