One of the defining feature of American politics, I believe, is how much people dislike or outright hate "The Government." Why the quotation marks and capitalization? Well, because people don't even seem to know what they hate exactly. They just hate "The Government." It oppresses them, steals from them, coerces them, spies on them, carries out immoral and inexcusable deeds. Then, depends on where a person stands in the political scales, The Government seems to do very different things. A right-winger would complain about how The Government takes away will to work, feeds lazy people, oppresses freedom of the church. A left-winger would complain that The Government fails to help poor people, gives to the corporations, and enslaves itself to the church. Notice that contradicting people generally accuse The Government of doing exactly what the other part would do.
It's my opinion that both sides, left and right, are frankly outright stupid.
First, let's say that The Government is overthrown. Yoo hoo! FREEDOM! Let's take a few days to celebrate. Now what? Do laws need adjustment and execution? Do streets need policing? Do fire need fighting? Do rights need protection? By the way, property is a right, so if you want it, you have to protect it. You know what's state of nature? The tiger eats the rabbits; that's law of nature. The queen bees order their workers around; that's law of nature. Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, property, equality, etc. are all artificial constructs. So, don't tell me shit about natural rights. If you want rights, you protect it.
Again, what will make and execute laws? Police the streets? Fight the fire? Protect human rights? Bad guys don't magically turn into bunnies after a revolution. Hunger does not magically turn into feasts after a revolution. Enemies don't magically befriend after a revolution. What will do all the public works and coordinations?
Oh yes, a new government will. New government may do things differently from old one, no doubt. However, it must exist. Until all humans become saints (or, maybe until robots can replace all or most of human labor), something still need to maintain laws and orders, coordinate public works, and facilitate public discussions. What do you call that thing? Ah, the be-damned government.
Secondly, what do you think the government can do? And I am serious about this. If a land has 10ft of rain a year, a government can't make it rains 20ft. If crop fails, the government can't make it spring back to life. The government actually can't create any wealth. The government, by definition, governs. That means that it sets up the society to function. It can't make rain out of drought, land out of flood, gold out of lead, food out of dirt. It just can't.
Thus, overthrowing or replacing a government does not solve the scarcity of goods and wealth. If anything, such attempts will destroy trust, infrastructure, and wealth to such a degree that the attempted country would fall far behind its neighbor. Exhibit A: France and England. France is a bigger, more populous, and was richer than England. However, French Revolution made English Revolution look like child play. Guess who came out ahead? Hint: vast majority of developed "new world" countries (the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) speak English.
In other words, the government is a necessity, but is far from omnipotent. It's a social construct, just like, says, nations and churches and universities. Thus, to hate "The Government" is like hating the foxes for killing the chickens. It's just stupid.
That said, hating specific aspects or actions of the current government makes sense. All governments are far from perfect. Thus, by identifying problem areas, citizens can improve their governments and make their world a fairer place. Remember, a lot can be done without a bloody revolution. In fact, many a times, revolutions change little. Just ask the Chinese. Since the time of their unification, some 2300 years ago, their land has witnessed countless revolutions and rebellions. Guess what, up until quite recently (1905), there have been preciously little change in political situations. Reversely, the US, over slightly more than 200 years of her existence, has change enormously. Sure, there has been a bloody civil war, but what countries have not experienced that? (Hmm, maybe Canada; time to accuse Canada of not being a real country). However, the US today and the US in 1960s and the US in 1930s and the US in 1870s are vastly different places, and not just in term of economic growth. Today, a black man presides over the country. Such situation is not imaginable, let alone possible, when the Civil War ended (in fact, the Union is quite racist; as a reminder, they did not fight for the slave per se). Today, homosexual couples can marry. Today, children don't have to work to death to feed their family. Today, most people work only 40 hours a week. All of the above were achieved without major bloodshed.
Therefore, next time you say "I hate the government," be specific. You hate the support to poor children? Sure, then let poor children die. Or, you hate jobs from defense industry? Sure, let people go unemployed. You hate the fact that poor women can get abortion? Sure, let crime run wild. Note that I only list the worst consequences above. All of these consequences can be remedied, if you work on them. They don't magically disappear if you impeach your president. They definitely don't disappear just because you slaughter your fellow citizens in a revolution. So, fix the government if you has issues; don't let a few bad apples ruin your harvest.
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