To what extent should we trust our government?
It seems like it is hard to find a balance between paranoia about the government and naivety. For me, anyway. What are some good guidelines about trusting ones government?
This may seem like an odd question, but it came up in my mind upon researching The Patriot Act.
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1984 reference? I'm reading that right now! It's great so far! Here's the thing though: I see all these people saying things like "OMGOBAMAWASBORNINIRAQ" and I see that that is irrational. However, I know that the government certainly hides things(e.g. CIA missions that are not disclosed until years later)... So I'm asking: What is the balance? 1
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They don't trust you? Why else would they spy on you (Patriot Act). Of course you cannot trust them. They don't represent you, they represent corporations who want your money and your subservient attitudes. Don't trust them on the simple fact that if you actually take the time to rebel and cause a commotion, they storm your compound with tanks and burn you to death (Waco Texas). These guys have all the power, all the money, and all the guns. Trusting them is like having tea with a Sex predator on your right and a Walking Vibrator on your left. Eventually your getting screwed. I'll go ahead and weigh in. I think that we should not trust our government, but should not fear them either. I realized that the problem with this debate is that I was asking the wrong question. Wacky conspiracy theories are not believed because of a lack of trust in the government; they are believed because of irrational fear of the government. No one should fear their government to such an extent that that person stops thinking clearly. I'm not saying that all conspiracy theories are irrational; I'm just saying that if a person is going to separate the rational from the irrational, that person cannot have too much fear in his/her mind, because fear makes it really difficult to think clearly. The officials we elect should not be "trusted" unless we have seen what they do and what their motives seem to be. Even then, people should be reluctant to trust them because anyone can make themselves look good, and anyone can do good things with selfish motives. Also, one cannot really reasonably place trust in "the government", because our government is made up of so many individuals, and it is changing on a regular basis. Side: I asked the wrong question
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