I view the role of government to be there to serve the individuals that make up the population

I think that this should be the reality and not just something that people wish for. Government officials are called "public servants" for a reason. Meaning, they should serve the public. The same public whose taxes are feeding their families (and greed). Somewhere along history, it became lost in translation and the people in power turned the concept upside down.

It's a great question you posed there, about is it better to be feared or loved. As a fan of The Prince, my mind is wrestling with the different conflicting concepts that I want to believe in. Personally, I feel that both choices have their advantages and disadvantages. Being feared allows you to discipline the people, but it causes dissension among the ranks. However, being loved would lead many people to take advantage and you would need to rely on people's self-discipline to maintain order.

@lukestokes usually preaches about voluntaryism, and it's something that I've grown to embrace. A centralized form of government or authority may be the prevailing concept but the it's not sustainable and severely outdated. I agree that people need to find out the truth on their own instead of relying on other people to spoonfeed them with the information. That's truly the way to go if we hope to achieve a self-governing society.