Hello @valued-customer,

Thank you for that impassioned response.

I cannot endorse the bullet. While I agree that by the time people reach the higher echelons of government they are already corrupted (because of compromises they make to get to those positions), I don't have much more faith in 'people' than I do in 'government'.

It is my experience that in the absence of order bullies rise to the top. It is (in my opinion) an unfortunate truth that humans are aggressive. Throughout history they have organized themselves into groups. It's just what they do. Inevitably the strongest (generally the bully) rises to the top. We are a lot like our primate relatives in that regard.

Do I want the government to go away and marauding individuals (armed to the teeth because everybody who wants one has an assault weapon) marching down the street and knocking down my door? Do I want them to seize my vegetables and laser-printed goods? Do I want them to carry off my granddaughter, because they can and there is no one to stop them?

Your idea of a free society is lovely. I do believe in self-sufficiency. However, I also believe in order. We need to have that order imposed, unfortunately, by some sort of organizing authority. We need better government. What we really need is for people to take notice and to rise up, not with bullets but with their voices, with their ballots. We need them to take note of the people who govern them, even on the local level.

We are lazy. We leave it to others to stand up. We leave it to others to run for office, to campaign. Our reward for laziness is that the worst of us rise to the top.

The remedy for bad government is good government, but people have to want it and work for it. That, my friend, is more a fantasy than a realistic goal I am afraid.