What Government Is

I'm sometimes asked why I take exception to government controlling, well, just about anything. This question generally comes from people who hold a very different view of what government is than I do, so from their standpoint it's not an unreasonable question. To offer my view of what government is, allow me to quote someone who was much wiser than I could ever hope to be: “Government is not reason; it is not eloquence. It is force. And force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” That was the view of the very first person to hold the title of President of the United States, George Washington.

Don't believe me? Let me offer you a scenario: Suppose I decide (with no input from you) that you owe me a sum of money each year, let's say $12,000 for a nice round number. I send you a letter to the effect that you much remit to me $3,000 each quarter, by a date I determine. If you fail to do so I begin collection proceedings against you, taking your savings, your paycheck, or taking over ownership of your home. If you resist I send a group of heavily armed men to your home in the middle of the night, they break in your door, kill your dog if you have one, tie you up, drag you from your home and lock you in a cage until such time as you agree to pay the amount in question, with penalties for late payment. If you resist this intrusion into your home you will be shot and likely killed. If I did such a thing I would be thrown in jail for (at the very least) breaking into your home, assault, and kidnapping if not murder.

Try not paying your property taxes sometime and see what happens.

Government maintains a monopoly on the proactive use of violence to enforce its will. No matter how reasonable the government's request, no matter how eloquently the request is delivered, that request is backed up by the iron fist of force. As far as I'm concerned the fewer aspects of my life government is permitted to bring that force to bear upon, the most comfortable I am.