I've recently changed my mind about a few things, and one of them is the
foundation of
government. Essentially, we use government when we are convinced that we'd be worse off unless we ultimately resort to violence.
Our government uses violence as its foundation. Things have to be a certain way, they tell us, and to make them that way, those who refuse to comply must be dealt with, and if they cannot be made to comply without using violence, then violence is warranted. It is our acceptance of this claim that strips us of our liberty. I'm talking about psychological liberty, and it is the first
liberty that a person must possess in order to have meaningful liberty in any other sense.
When you come to realize, as I have, that some time between birth and now, you no longer needed your parents, and that at the moment that happened, you became free, then you might begin to see that the government has stepped up to make us feel like children again, and we often
accept and even embrace it, thereby giving up that freedom. We do it because having a parent makes us feel
safe.
If you read
Leviathan by
Thomas Hobbes, you may begin to perceive the
monster that the government really is. This perception is available through many other authors as well. It is very liberating merely to recognize the monster. You wil then be able to point out its monstrous qualities to others and they will often see it too, however briefly. You can then lead them toward a world view in which
personal responsibility, and not
violence, is the foundation for a civil, comfortable, productive, and peaceful society.