When Did Elected Officials Become, Leaders of The People?

It is true, many of our elected officials were leaders. Some, like George Washington, was the leader of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Dwight D. Eisenhower was a leader in the United States Army, and Supreme Commander of the the Armed Forces during World War II. There are many leaders among us that will never be elected to public office, yet there are many men and women in public office that are not now, never have been, and never will be leaders.
It came to me last Sunday evening while in church, and someone suggested that we pray for our leaders. I'm like, what leaders? In order to be a leader, one must lead something. It has always been my understanding that we elect public officials as servants and representatives of "We The People". When did public servants go from servants of the people to leaders of the people. In my view, it is "We The People" who are supposed to be in charge, and our duly elected public servants answer to us, not the other way around. George Washington, by his own admittance, was a servant of the people, and the nation. When did the American people relinquish the control to elected servants? I honestly think the worst thing Americans ever did, was to allow politicians to think of themselves as leaders, instead of servants and representatives of the people. This is a Republic, although it is governed by elected officials, those officials are to be carrying out the will of the people. "We The People" are not, and should not be considered servants of the government. That's not how this Republic was established, or how it was intended to be run. The will of the people, is just that. The will, or wishes of the servant of the people are to be held irrelevant when voting on legislation. The elected servant of the people, is to represent the will and wishes of his/her constituents. It is the elected public servant's duty to ascertain the will of the majority of those he represents, and cast his vote accordingly. If the elected representative feels strongly that the people's will, is somehow flawed, it is also his obligation to make that known, and even persuade his people to look at things from his standpoint. However, if they are not swayed, it is not the representative's right to vote against his people. This is exactly what has happened, these elected servants have been elected, and re-elected for so many terms, that they deem themselves somehow more intelligent than those they represent. None, and I repeat none of these career politicians are irreplaceable. To bestow the title of "leader" on someone, is to assume that everyone else must follow. I think our servants, have been referred to as leaders, for too long, or at least long enough for them to assume that we must now, all follow. In this Republic, that concept is not going to work, nor, should it! If "We The People" want someone to make all our decisions for us, we would be electing political mommies, and daddies, instead of representatives. The word "representative", is after all, self explanatory, is it not? I am 100% convinced by these facts that definite term limits are necessary, and should be pursued by "We The People."
It is high time "We The People" recognize and correct our past mistakes. Let's elect representatives who will know their place and do their duty in carrying out the will of the people. Let's keep our elected officials in a position to answer to us, not the other way around. When the government fears the people, that's "Freedom". When the people fear the government, that's "slavery."
I'd rather have a servant that prays, along with the people, wouldn't you?