Who Is This Government?

It keeps happening in the last handful of years that I hear people dissatisfied with the government. I hear some saying that we need smaller government, or less government. Others, want no government at all. In all honesty, I cannot find many people who like "government".

This makes me smile as I remember a scene at the beginning of the movie "Big Bear", when Chief Big Bear is speaking to representatives of Queen Victoria and he asks:

"I understand You talk for government now but what is this "government"? We have heard of it for years and it has never come to talk to us. Where is it?"

Well, Chief Big Bear has been dead since 1888. I can understand his confusion and/or disappointment with "government" at that time but now, we are in 2018. Pointing fingers at government in my opinion is not enough. Being confused by government is no longer acceptable - there are remedies. After all, "government" is us. We are the government.

A "government" is just a system organized by people in order to make laws and rules which will help a society exist and thrive. The people who directly make-up the government are responsible and representatives of to the people whom they govern. Not for one second should we think that we are powerless in the face of government. We have many choices.

I grew-up in a dictatorship. In that case, government was high-jacked by a small group of people and government was no longer representing the masses. Ordinary people were oppressed, lived under constant fear, hungry and often very cold in their own homes, during winter time. Yet, even from such circumstances, my fellow country men and women rouse-up (some died indeed in the process), taking back control of their government. Change is possible and it can come in many ways.

Now, in North America we do not have dictatorships. We just have crooked politicians bought-out by lobbyists with campaign contributions/donations. This is certainly a bit of a problem but that should not be enough for us to give up on government. If we give-up on government, we give-up on our societies.

Without some sort of government we do not have fire-fighters to come to our rescue when we accidently light the kitchen on fire (I did that). Without government we do not have an ambulance rush to our aid when we crash our car in a ditch and are injured (thank God I haven't done that). Without government we have no laws, it will be back to our long forgotten caves and whoever is the strongest gets the food. We do not want that, do we?

Government affects our lives constantly. Are You paying taxes on your house, or not? That's government jurisdiction. Are You paying taxes on goods, or on gasoline, or on land transfers, or on inheritances, etc.? Again, all these come from government. Is alcohol legal, or illegal where You live? If You are legally allowed to have a beer, or a glass of wine, that's under the control of government. Even if the Air You breath is fresh, or not has to do with government. Just look at China and how there are days when the government warns people to stay indoors due to the dangers of breathing-in their polluted Air. We do not want that here in North America, do we?

Government is not some monster, out there in the darkness. It is not an entity created to make our lives miserable. No. Government is a tool and it is ours to control, if we want to. The excuses for not doing so are many. We can sit and complain about government until our mouth goes dry and things will remain the same. Or, we can get involved, take part in this system called government and bend it in such ways that it helps our livelihoods. I think it is possible. We just have to make-up our minds about it.

All the best to everyone!

P.S. I asked permission to take the photograph of the homeless man in Paris, for those who wondered.