One of the things I don’t like about America is how it’s democracy is vaulted and talked about in lofty terms, but in reality exists far less then what people suggest with the language they use. In America, we talk about our government doing “the people’s business”, government workers being “public service” and our police and firefighters “serving a noble cause” and our military, “serving a cause greater then themselves”. Criminal cases brought by the government are said to be brought by “the people”, that police are “law enforcement” rather then “state enforcers”.

Most parliamentary systems such as those in Canada and Great Britain use a very different, and I would argue more accurate words to describe the state. Laws in parliamentary countries are “enforced by the crown”, properties owned by the government are “owned by the crown”, all power goes through the “crown”. Parks and national forests in parliamentary countries are called “crown lands”. The crown is the king or queen that rules the country, their power limited by the people which at one point in their country’s history got together, revolted, and limited the power of the crown.

Words matter a lot. They help determine how the people view the state and those who are employed by the state. Government power should be viewed skeptically, people should believe that most who are involved in the governing process are primarily there for a paycheck, to help their family, their friends, and maybe the people who are closest to them in their community. Government workers – be it the police, the firefighters, the military, the legislature, or even the health inspectors – are primary there to get paid their salary, succeed in their chosen careers and collect a retirement check in their later years for leisure.

To be sure, every country needs a crown, they need laws and the enforcement of such laws. Democracy plays an important role in creation of the laws, but just because a country has a democratic process and a set of courts with extensive procedure and precedence, does not mean those laws are fair or just. It doesn’t mean your voice or even your community’s voice is heard in the legislative process. There are many ways elections are manipulated in America – from the laws that govern them to favor one party over another – to gerrymandering – to institutional hurdles that make even popular changes by the masses impossible.

A more skeptical view of the state in America, and those who are employed by the state would be better for our country. People should not assume that any particular law is the will of the people, or that laws are a result of a well-reasoned debate, representing popular or even a long-standing opinion of an intellectual elite. Instead, most law making and elections are a messy process, and most enforcement action on behalf of state enforcement agents, is not based on law, but are justified by law.

Committed activists do often succeed in making changes. Democracy can be made fairer, laws can be adjusted to be more representative of the people. Many government workers do a good job. These are all true points. But the worshiping of our democracy through our choice of language to describe the actions of government is really serving no one’s interest.