The process of waking up to the nature of government is an emotional one for everyone, at least at some level. It’s kind of like that transition in a child’s life that happens when they realize that their parents aren’t superheroes … they just like to dress up for conventions. The parallel with government, however, is much more intense when properly considered. On some level, your parents will always love you and a bad relationship with a parent is unfortunate. Government has no such redeeming features, but society seems to fear its loss like a child losing a parent.
Governments would like us to believe that the laws of morality are suspended for them, and although they screw up sometimes, there really are magical people who can bend reality and use violence as a constant force for good. The propaganda is designed to make us dependent on government and so we are led to believe that these magical people are protecting us. The state serves as a psychological security blanket.
Most people who are at least vaguely aware of what governments do seem trapped in a state of denial. Like a dependent victim of an abusive relationship, they delude themselves into thinking that it’s easier to ignore the abusive behavior or downplay it and avoid it. How much longer will people be able to get away with the equivalent of, “I fell down some stairs?” The thought of being alone scares them. The thought of not having the institution performing certain functions that it is performing now invokes great uncertainty. “But who will build the roads!” we hear them cry. The most intelligent answer will fall on deaf ears. This is not a rational objection; it is an emotional one. Children put their fingers in their ears and say, “Na-na-na-na! I can’t hear you!” Adults say, “But we NEEEEEED government!”
Fear is a great motivator and it is carefully used by the powers that be to keep society in line. It surrounds us, but the propaganda that we are inundated with carries powerful hidden messages. Virus scare? Good thing the government is here to respond. Terrorist threat? Thank goodness for our brave troops. Crime wave? It’s not the IRS, silly! The police are here to keep you safe. If you can’t see through the false fear mongering, you can’t see how silly all of this violent government really is.
When people are waking up, there is a threat from fear of a different kind. It is tempting to believe the doomsdayers selling survival gear while preaching apocalypse. For how long have false prophets been predicting the imminent collapse of the dollar? When you step back to take in the bigger picture, you can see that humanity marches on as we always have and it’s worth noting that overall, we are living in the most peaceful time in human history. So maybe it’s two steps forward, one step backward, but the trend is clear. I’m not saying there aren’t plenty of legitimate things to be afraid of, but a 30 year supply of tin foil hats won’t be necessary.
Some people in abusive relationships stay in them until they die miserable. Such is not the destiny of humanity in regards to our relationship with this thing called government. We have been slowly eradicating all other forms of interpersonal violence and coercion, but still carve out this one exception for government. In reality, the practice of government, that is, controlling others by force will slowly be eliminated. The institutions will be downsized, localized, and eventually dissolved. In our metaphor, we will leave the abusive relationship as we slowly admit that it is not in our best interest.
For those of us who have already left in some form, (as long as it exists and we are still in its territory, we cannot fully leave government) we can take comfort in the fact that this process is accelerating. The emotional manipulations of governments have always depended on controlling the flow of information. They can’t do that in the age of the internet. We all have the truth button at our fingertips - in our pockets - and denial is so much less effective when the facts are always present.
The message of freedom has been ahead of its time until now. Most of those who have embraced the philosophy of freedom have been activists and truth seekers. Soon, freedom will be embraced by a society facing new challenges and looking for answers. The internet is still in its infancy, especially in terms of social impact. Within the next two decades, many primary positions of social power will be taken over by those of us who grew up with the internet and have no patience for problems that exist for lack of information.
Many of us who have evolved past statism in our thinking are waiting for the rest of the world to catch up. We are ready to move past violence and feel held back by those around us who still think government is an effective way to solve problems. Such is a typical woe that faces the early adopters of any new technology. In this case, the new technology is freedom - properly understood, universally applied, held as an ultimate truth. It is replacing not just an older technology - calling the criminal enterprise of government a “technology” would be far too kind - it is ushering in a new era of humanity. We are eliminating a practice that holds us back. Governments have never loved their people. Like leaving a relationship with a sociopath, moving past government will provide society immense relief from so many ills we face today. It is tempting to be afraid when you realize the things that you should really be afraid of, but fear not, the end is near.
I am the author of FREEDOM!, a book endorsed (I mean banned) by the US Department of “Justice.” You can get a copy here. I’m running for Not-President in 2020 on the platform of the peaceful, orderly, and responsible dissolution of the United States federal government. You can find out more here. I am currently on my #TaxationIsTheft tour! You can find an event near you here. Whoever has the top comment on this post after 24 hours can claim a free signed copy of FREEDOM! by sending me a message with their address.