These are miserable times for those who expect leadership from politicians. It might, however, be a great moment for people to be the leaders.

Many people want to be led by their government, and most politicians want to follow, too — follow the voters, who often want to follow them. It can get dysfunctional, but it can also be a virtuous cycle between citizens and public servants.

There are plenty of positive examples. Our area’s local government leaders, in general, conduct themselves admirably. Our region’s representatives in the state legislature do a pretty good job as well.

But our federal politics have gone crazy. Well, maybe not crazy — just selfish and unprincipled. At least they are consistent in that.

A few, like President Donald Trump, are not followers by nature. They, too, rely on voters, but they’re more willing to tilt the table and manipulate them rather than just pander to them.

A high school social studies teacher taught me that the first job of a politician is to get elected, period. If that means changing one’s positions on issues, or attacking someone else who might be as good or better at the job, they’ll usually do it.

For me, growing up in Alabama, the classic example was George Wallace. He was effectively the state’s governor from 1963 to 1979 (faced with a term-limit law, his wife served as his puppet governor for one term), and then again from 1983 to 1987. He also ran for president four times. Nationally, he became the face of the racist South.

Before all that, as a judge, he was relatively moderate on race — for Alabama in the 1950s. That meant he was willing to give black defendants probation instead of jail time, and he would use the title “Mister” for black lawyers in his court, instead of calling them by their first names as most Alabama judges did at the time.

He first ran for governor in 1958 but lost the Democratic primary — the real election in Alabama back then — to John Patterson, who was a staunch segregationist. Wallace then adopted a hard racist line and never lost another gubernatorial election. In an inauguration speech he famously swore, “Segregation forever!”

Yet in 1979 he announced he had become a born-again Christian and realized segregation had been wrong. He publicly begged forgiveness and convinced droves of black people of his sincerity. In 1982, in what would be his final gubernatorial run, he campaigned on class, advocating for the poor against the rich. As Republican candidate Emory Folmar welcomed Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush to speak at his fundraisers, Wallace’s guest celebrity was country music singer Tammy Wynette. The black vote helped carry him to victory.

Through all of that, Wallace was doing what the majority of Alabama voters wanted him to do — even if it was was morally repulsive. In the 1960s, longtime repression had left few African Americans registered to vote, and Southern segregationists still expected they would prevail. By the 1980s, that hope had faded, and African Americans were voting in much larger numbers. Seen through a political lens, Wallace was an expert strategist.

Seen through a moral lens, he sold his soul.

Wallace always had the option to avoid the evil of oppression and bigotry, but he chose it because he wanted to be powerful more than he wanted to be good.

In anything one does, one has choices. One can calculate a strategy to maximize “success,” as one defines it. A ski or bobsled racer can optimize their equipment and the position he or she takes in and out of the turns. A real estate developer can optimize return on investment. But to “win” — to do a particular thing better than everyone else — requires surrendering to that strategy and doing whatever it determines, regardless of the sacrifices that requires from one’s personal happiness, family, community — sometimes even conscience.

Politics is the same way. Sometimes winning a race requires a total commitment. That doesn’t mean a candidate should always do that. They have a choice. They can put themselves forward honestly and let the voters decide, instead of trying to manipulate or pander to them.

We, as citizens, have choices, too. We can simply follow political parties and politicians, or we can think and act for ourselves, and shake off leaders who get too ambitious.

When large numbers of voters relinquish their autonomy and buy into parties or cults of personality, that opens the door to potential totalitarianism, either from the right or the left. Democracy is safer when people think and speak for themselves, independently and respectfully.

History has proven that attentive politicians will do their best to follow our lead.

They are watching us even now, and therefore, we need to think harder about where we are leading them with our words and actions. Let’s make sure it is not in immoral directions, like the white people of Alabama once did with George Wallace.

The responsibility is on each of us.