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I'll make a prediction... you drift through your life enjoying an uncounted number of government provided conveniences you never even think about or realize the amount of work being done to maintain them while spouting off about how terrible the government is... and you would be one of the people complaining loudest if those conveniences went away.
Believe you me, I think about those conveniences. My aunt worked in city planning for decades. I have little problem without conveniences. I have a personal collection of nearly 1000 books - giving me little desire for a library. I walk most of the time, giving me little use for roads. I wear the same clothes for about three or four days, and I bathe about once or twice a week - I don't use water that much, and I wouldn't complain if I had to get it from a well. I use the internet mainly to expand my knowledge - I could do it just as easily by reading my three encyclopedia sets. I've seen most movies and TV shows worth watching, so a lack in electricity would not bother me in that regard. I haven't been to a doctor for years.
I would not complain about a lack of these so-called conveniences.
"I'm rugged and self sufficient! I'd get along fine without government! Look, I walk lots and read books!"
It's like a bad joke. You walk lots huh? Where to? Into the woods to bring down a deer for your dinner? Or is it, perhaps, to the grocery store? Have lots of books do we? Where did you get them? And you wear the same clothes for a few days. Well gosh how impressive. Where did you get the clothes in the first place?
Let me guess, you think the ultimate answer to all these questions is that private businesses provided you with those things. And then you just stop there, without considering HOW those private businesses gave you those things. By transporting things on the roads and using their manufacturing facilities powered by the national power grid, etc, etc...
First of all, unless you no longer eat or your clothing is indestructible and will never wear out I'm not just talking about "if we never had them in the first place".
Second of all, even if that wasn't the case you would be basically arguing "Got mine, screw everyone who comes after me and let the nation go to hell! HaHa!" if you were seriouly saying it was ok to lose those conveniences now because you'd already cashed in and gotten the things YOU wanted from them. Would you care to make that argument explicitly? Terminator is set so now we can trash the system and anyone who comes along afterward is just out of luck?
I said that I - I - was set for quite a few years. Other people don't matter when I speak about myself.
Food is irrelevant. I can live, just not as healthfully or as long, off of water. I'm sure I could find a well or a pond or even rainwater to drink if I did not have access to tap water or bottled water.
Food? I can, and have (when I was young), eaten grass. There are berries which kids used to pick in a forest near my home. I have a cat which I could eat. And, as I have stated on numerous occasions, I'd have little problem killing and eating a human. My life, and the life of my family, is most important.
Clothing-
I have no problem being naked. If I rationed the time spent in clothing, I'd be able to make them last many a winter while going most of the summer naked. If I were cold, I have at least a dozen blankets.
I will counter just about any 'necessity' you can think of.
Your big argument now for why we have no need to have gratitude towards the government for what they do is that you personally wouldn't immediately die if we got rid of the government, because if nothing else eating your pets and cannibalism of your neighbours is always an option so everything would be just fine?
Any counter-argument I gave at this point would just be redundant. You've effectively destroyed your own position all by yourself. "Sure, if we abolish the government we would quite possibly end up in a post-apocalyptic hell where I had to eat fluffy to avoid starvation then begin stalking that fat guy who lives down the street to see if I could make steaks out of him... but I'd live so no problem! Stupid worthless government..."
Uh-huh... and how they make those laws is unrelated to the votes WE cast putting them in office in the first place TO make those laws I suppose? They're just a bunch of tyrants running around doing whatever they want to us and we're powerless to prevent it... of woe is us, our freedoms stolen by the uncaring government dictatorship...
Well, I don't know if you are old enough to remember, but back in the 70s there was a television show called Mork & Mindy. The details of the show are irrelevant, just this one scenario was brought to mind by this debate.
Mindy got a parking ticket because her watched stop. Mork, an alien and not understanding the concept of democracy, asked her who gave her the ticket. She replied that it was a person hired by the city for that very reason. Mork asked who hired the man, she replied that it was the duties of the officials - whom she elected. So, in essence, she voted to give herself the aforesaid ticket.
P.S. This is a classic example of how I formulate debates. If any topic brings to mind an element of popular culture, I attempt to integrate that example into said debate.
You, sir, are retarded in what I hope is the literal truth.
Why exactly do you think that only through government intervention can we have grocery stores? What, are people just incapable of selling food to each other? Yes or no, you're wrong either way.
Books and clothes? Are you inbred? Do you have even the slightest hint of understanding when it comes to the market?
Ohhhhhh fuck, who will build the roads. I never even thought of that, I guess you're right. (rolls eyes).
You think you're the first to think of the roads argument? reeaaallllyyyyy? Wal-Mart can ship merchandise across continents and oceans, but putting concrete on the god damn ground is just TOOOOO fucking complicated for people to do without government to tell us simpletons how to do it. (I burst out laughing half-way through writing that XD)
Let me get this straight, people are incapable of solving problems (e.g. selling stuff... putting concrete in a line on the ground... writing books), therefore we need government...
If this question pertains to local government, there are a lot more conveniences that I would never want to give up. Local government is much more important than federal government other than national defense. Unlike some in federal government, many are hidden.
How often is criticism made my most people helpful?
We all (including me) sit here thinking we can do a better job than the primeminister/president/other powerful places but in reality I don't think any of us could handle half the pressure. Sure they make some extremely stupid decisions, but we wouldn't be able to survive 90% of their day.
I agree. I certainly couldn't lead a cat out of a paper bag. I'm a loner.
But we decide who leads us for the most part, and even if we ourselves are not up to the job does not mean we do not have the right to insist those who feel they are worthy to lead do a good job.
Says the guy who says he'd be fine without government because he could always eat his pets and neighbours to survive once the civil infrastructure collapsed...
