It seems like every time I talk about government overreach, one of my left wing friends wants to make out like I'm overreacting. I do not understand the entire viewpoint that sees the present yet is unable to fathom unpleasant possibilities in the future. So many people live in the present and think that the way they live will never change. Perhaps not, but how do they know?
How many countries or governments have lasted forever? If there is even one country or government, I would like to know because I do not think one exists. In all our nationalistic furor as Americans, we thump our chests and scream in defiance if someone else even suggests that we might fail, but what assurance does that confidence provide? The fact that you think we can last forever does not count for much when your time on earth is limited enough as it is. To speak for generations to come as well as for circumstances not experienced is borderline ludicrous. If no other country or government has lasted forever, what exactly are the odds that the USA will be the first?
People will read that I say we (USA) cannot last forever and say it is unpatriotic or that I am being like a Chicken Little. If I state that I will die one day, am I then being suicidal, or am I simply being realistic? My feelings for the USA are irrelevant if I say that one day it will fail in that all governments fail. I have heard people respond that failure is impossible in that the people (we) have nowhere to go. Collapses of nations rarely involve mass exodus of their people. In fact, the people reorganize and form a new government. Let's be realistic.
If you believe that the USA will live forever, perhaps you are right, and it would be best for you to stop reading now because everything else written will only be more maddening than the previous few paragraphs combined. If you believe that history repeats itself, then your position is factually accurate and supported by thousands of years of historical documentation. I agree with you. There is nothing new in this world, and the collapse of governments is unavoidable.
By looking at this current government as temporary, why are we so willing to cede our authority over to it? Do we believe that the authority given to it will be magnanimously returned to us before impending doom? Our Founding Fathers knew more than we do now of the temporary nature of government because they experienced its failure first hand; therefore, they incorporated restrictions upon its power into the founding documents. They knew that we needed to be equipped to fight the government of the future, so they wished to prevent it from restricting our speech, ability to carry arms, etc. Even today though, those among us who believe in the eternity of nations seek to hamstring the very rights needed to preserve freedom against bureaucracy. In believing in the forever nature of our country, they presume the best will and intentions possible. They project upon the government and its actors--the politicians--the qualities they want to see instead of the shortcomings they actually experience. They believe in the essential goodness of people in spite of the fact that politicians and government rarely have high levels of satisfaction with the products they provide. One look at current statistics is all that is needed to realize that people are not happy with their government even as they hope to give it more power.
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