Did you know that , once they are elected to office, are issued a secret "Carte Blanche" card that gives them permission to do whatever they want?

Now I am just kidding but if you didn't know better it would be very easy to assume that it was true based upon current attitudes, behaviors and news reports.

Our political system does allow us to elect a person to represent us on the local, state or federal level. That person then becomes a "salaried employee", a paid representative of the people, right?

If that were so, would it not be reasonable to expect that representative to represent us by voting yea or nay on the issues as we wished....right?

Well, maybe you feel as if you are being represented in the halls of power but I've got to tell you....I don't! And I do know that there are lots of people that feel as I do that once elected, most politicians begin to repay and cater to those that paid for the election and those that will support the next one!

It is a common misconception the we live in a true democracy but we do not. In actuality we live in a republic which is a form of government in which a state is ruled by representatives elected by its populace.

A democracy is a Greek concept which means "rule by the people" and is generally used to mean that the majority rules. Ancient Athens called itself a democracy (from c.500 bc to c.330 bc) because all citizens could take part in political decisions. That would obviously not be feasible in the United States for primarily logistical reasons.

So, even though we do give a sort of "carte blanche" which is defined as giving unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion or unconditional authority, we do expect, and rightly so, that they owe their allegiance to their constituents.

It does, however, appear that most elected officials need to be reminded that their constituents are those residents of their district that gave them their job and now pay their salary. It certainly would be nice if they acted accordingly.