There's an old vaudeville bit. A man walks in to see a doctor. He says “Doc, it hurts when I do this!” and clubs himself over the head. The doctor says “Well, don't do that.”

Both major parties want to control government, but they don't want to be controlled if the other guys are elected or appointed or chosen out of a hat. They want the power, but the accepted solution to the risk is keeping their guy in charge. After all, he's a better (LESS WORSE) choice than the other guys.

I'm telling you that there are decades of law that need to be ripped out by the roots. Your solutions are to tweak the law and issue new regulations. And then you complain because it hurts or it's used against you.

Don't do that.

I wouldn't presume to change the nature of mankind or government.

I'm suggesting that we change our assumptions and our understanding of government.

❝Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens from crimes against themselves or their property. When government-- in pursuit of good intentions tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the cost come in inefficiency, lack of motivation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player.❞
   — Milton Friedman

The thing is we trust Official Authority Figures even when they don't know what they are talking about. I've mentioned the pandemic, but we can include hurricane response, the Federal Reserve, public schools, or any number of things.

We have to stop thinking of government as the first, best, and last solution. Not only does government action displace private action, but government action is shielded from competition. And without competition, things don't improve nearly as fast. It's way too easy to spend someone else's money, especially if you don't face the consequences if you screw up.

Getting back to the current situation, ask yourself if Trump is solving the problem or prolonging it. And that brings us to the question that conservatives hate every time I ask it. What happens after Trump? Are we going to be facing the same problems only bigger in five or ten years?

Honestly I am not sure the nation can or should be saved. I gave up on that in Obama's first year. I had just spent seven years trying to ignore the implications of the USA PATRIOT Act. And I was looking hard at Inslaw and Promis long before Bushleague was elected. The roots and plans for what we call the Deep State had been in the works for years, possibly going back to before WWII. People forget that Reagan's VP and eventual successor was a former director of the CIA.

Once government has the tools, it will use them no matter what was promised before. And people being people, some in the system will use those tools for criminal reasons. Others will use them for petty reasons. And the institution will cover up.

So I don't trust Trump. Chances are he will be reelected. And the question will still be there. What happens after Trump?

I could go on and on. I can give you the detailed logical proofs. But none of it matters to you unless I convince you that using government is just as dangerous as having it used on you.

I don't know if you are familiar with memetic theory, but any government is an organism dedicated to survival and propagation. Fighting "the good fight" is how government diverts more resources into itself. This happens no matter who is elected to what office, or if good or bad men are appointed. Their character doesn't matter to government.

People don't want to hear me drone on and on in obscure history and psychology. They don't want to hear how interpersonal dynamics pull at their passions more than their minds. They don't want to accept that government has adapted to channel their energy and effort into it's own existence and it doesn't always follow accepted human rules. The more systemized government becomes, the more of it exists outside of human reach. There is no vaccine, no fix. There is only starving it.

Government and our version of politics depends on the struggle and you getting distracted.

The good news (such as it is) is that our culture and our society can no longer support government as it exists. It undermines too many of our beliefs and our dreams. It consumes too much of our wealth. And it locks too many people into lives of quiet desperation.