Compulsory schooling laws plus mandated vaccines Does Not Equal informed medical consent.

I'd say that almost all the technological advances happened despite government, not because of it. Yes, computing got a kick in the pants because of WWII, but it started much earlier. And once people realized there was profit to be had, it was kicked into overdrive. Yes, there was the ARPANET. But there was also the Bell Co.'s switching technology. People selling porn is why we have reliable high speed streaming video. And nobody thought the personal computer would be a thing before the Apple ][.

We have roads and ships because of trade. Government came to that party later. Much later.

Is there a purpose to government? I'd say yes, but it certainly isn't telling me what I am allowed to do. Accepting that as the price for living isn't a good bargain. I bet that everyone reading this has had problems with government. This isn't necessarily because government is bad by nature. It's because people use government to force others.

It doesn't matter if it's what books are in libraries. It doesn't matter if it's bakers making cakes. It doesn't matter if it's zoning or licensing laws. Government now is about forcing others or preventing them from forcing you. We've come a long way from holding truths to be self-evident. Now it's “I think government should MAKE you…”

It's a flawed tool because as it exists now, it's more likely to hurt you than help.

One of Friedman’s three legitimate functions of government is the military defense of the nation. Another is protecting citizens from crimes against themselves or their property. I think Friedman’s functions are a good starting point. Outside of those two circumstances, I really can’t see a use for government force.

I disagree that no one has found a way to engineer it out of the system. It would be more accurate to say that no one has found a way that politicos would accept. Because at the end of the day, almost all politicos want a way to send guns after you if you don’t do what they say.

I don’t want a libertarian paradise. I want liberty. Choices with consequences, as I defined it. I expect arguments. But I don’t want government surveillance. I don’t want government assuming that my neighbor is a domestic terrorist when she hasn’t done anything. I don’t want a “drug war” that makes traffickers incredibly wealthy and destabilizes entire nations. I don’t want someone fined because they didn’t complete a required hairdresser certification when all they do is braiding hair. I don’t want government assuming people are guilty until proven innocent. I don’t want parents forcibly removed from school board meetings because they disagree with the curriculum.

I don’t want government deciding for me. I don’t accept government authority over my life. Like many American pagans, I have had issues with people telling me my religion was wrong. And like some pagans, they tried to stop me by force or tried to use government on me. That’s why I am constantly amazed when American pagans demand more government interference, more government power, and more government action against the people they don’t agree with. The sword has two sides. If you expand government authority today, count on that authority used against you tomorrow.

I could go into the whys and the wherefores, but this has already dragged on too long. No matter who is in office, government isn’t Democrat and government isn’t Republican. Government is for more government. No one “side” is going to control it for more than a short time. Over the long term government will take more and more of your freedom by force. It’s inevitable. Government is not your friend, no matter how much it promises that it will be. It will always say “let’s you and him fight.”

The food groups were about subsidies and controlling what was on the market. As per usual, the justification is different from the goal. This isn't all that uncommon. Infrastructure bills decide what government think is important rather than what people actually want and are willing to pay for. Since the election of Billy-boy, infrastructure bills have included a lot of transferism, the movement of cash and assets to the "more deserving" as defined by the politicos. Or some of them, depending on who is in charge.

Simplifying, politicos promised to use government for one thing and then did many other things without telling you. They hoped you wouldn't notice. When they get called on it, they do more of the same and promise they could REALLY fix things if only given more power and more money and a little more time.

High-carb diets and over refined foods are just a couple of end results of government behavior. All of it made possible by government knows best and officials on your side and that you elected would never act against your interests.

Government is not your friend.

Even by my “live and let live” standards, sovereign citizens are more than three bubbles off level. Anarcho-capitalists will tell you private agency and private individuals can solve all the problems. I disagree, but I’ll also tell you that if I had my druthers we’d have no government regulations and 97% fewer laws.

Sovereign citizens, anarcho-capitalists, and small “l” libertarians do agree that most people are perfectly capable of solving their own issues, or finding people who can solve it for in exchange for a fee. It’s the free market at work, voluntary exchanges between mutually consenting adults. When you don’t like something that someone has sold you or a service that someone botched, the next time you find a different someone with a good reputation. It’s a temporary thing, and you only continue because you can get what you want and need.

When government becomes part of the process, it’s there to stay. Soon after, government will proclaim that it can make choices better than you can. It’s For Your Own Good, you see. It’s For The Children. It’s for Mom, Apple Pie, and Selling Designated American Goods Globally. Once it’s involved, you can’t get government out of the situation without drastic disruption. A smart politico does what they can to keep the cost and impact of government just below the perceived cost of getting rid of it. They’ll also do what they can to hide just how low the actual cost is.

Without government, we’d find another way. I don’t know what it is. I’d like to think it would be based on free choice with consequences, but I can’t promise that.