Some Good Things About The System - Editorial

What good are the worlds super scary governments actually doing?

The Supreme Court if the USA

Strong, powerful, and secretive governments, such as the United States, Russia, and China, are all pretty well known for their power and influence over other nations, as well as, the influence over their people, corporations, and worldwide events. Large superpowers, especially the United States, have gotten quite a nasty reputation over the past few years for being influenced by external sources of money and power. Because of this, many anti-government groups, such as socialist and “patriot” organizations, have popped up all over and have begun questioning many governmental motives. For example, why does the government allow drugs and alcohol to flourish? Why do they support big business, and pay off the media to keep quiet about its affairs?

They even question why we as a society follow the leaders of industry. And they believe that school education is brainwashing our youth. Truthfully, these questions are pretty fanatical, but society has been questioning its authority since the beginning of time. It’s important to ask questions, and analyze what the political system is doing. Sometimes the theories are a little far out there, but many have merit. So, before I throw in my two cents, let's quickly talk about why the so called “system” is the way it is:

• It keeps order: Although you can argue that this is a bad thing (you know, if you’re an anarchist), order is what keeps the world functioning the way that it does, and it's from order that elected or empowered individuals can run the nation and keep it functioning properly. Sometimes people forget that if there was no centralized government, then there would be no way of managing it, and it would plunge into chaos. Grand plans formed by the founding fathers of nations to accomplish united goals are what lead to the formation of the United States, the British Empire, and United Germany, just to name a few.
• It keeps the government strong: Although many would disagree, having a strong government benefits all of its citizens. The more money it has, the more it can spend on infrastructure, and the stronger military it has, the better it can defend its people. An often forgotten luxury overlooked by peace supporting activists is that they are allowed to peacefully protest, free from conflict, because of their nation's healthy military and large missile arsenals. If the US didn’t have the military it does, we wouldn’t have a basic since of protection, because we would be too busy fighting wars and stopping invaders.
• It benefits the people: Although sometimes this one is eclipsed by money and lust for power, for the most part, a good government will try to put the desires of its people first. If its people are benefited, then its next leaders are better prepared, and it can function better. What purpose does a government have for unhappy people? This one's probably the most controversial of the points, because it seems at to be not true at some times. Why are there so many people who are unhappy with the government's decisions? Especially in a democracy, a government needs to think of the general population. Not everyone can have exactly what they want, so the political system has to compromise.
• It has rules that keep it regulated: Most modern governments operate by a master document, such as the US constitution, or the Magna Carta, that directly influenced and still influence the laws of that nation. These papers are a collection of goals, principles, and values that the founding fathers believed their nation should have. Furthermore, amendments are often made to these documents to reflect changing times. In the US, the most notable of these amendments allow women to vote and make it illegal to own slaves, which were previously denied and allowed.
• It discourages crime: One of the benefits of a strong government is the regulation of crime. This one goes hand in hand with “the system” encouraging order. It's important to police crime, when there’s a large amount of crime, the government risks falling into anarchy, the absence of authority. Without authority, there is no law, there is no justice, and there is endless freedom, and endless freedom means anarchy.

 
All of these sound like pretty compelling reasons to support the government, and yet people still oppose. Why is this? It's probably because loopholes in laws, and questionable decisions made by the officials, leads to questioning of the government's stability. Lets look at the questions I mentioned earlier some people often ask.

Why does the government allow alcohol and drugs to flourish? This question travels along the lines of another commonly asked question about religion: why does God allow people to kill? Both of these questions have similar answers: free will. Most governments, of course, ban the sale and trade of harmful drugs, such as cocaine and meth, but less harmful substances are allowed. Why? Because it's the user's choice to use these products. Anti-drug programs, such as D.A.R.E. in the US actively discourage the use of drugs, but they still aren't illegal because the user has been warned. They showed you the charts, and the pictures, and are now leaving you with the decision to make.

Why is education allowed to brainwash the youth? This one seems a bit fanatical. On the surface, yes, the government wants you to think a certain way, but usually it's the right way. For example, there are only so many ways to learn math and language skills. There's only ever one correct answer to a math problem (even if the answer is more than one number), and there are only a few ways for you to interpret words. Other subjects, however, such as science and history, are harder to deal with. Naturally our understanding of both fields’ changes over time, but the whole point of education is to prepare the youth for their careers, and to inform, rather than influence. Obviously there are a few exceptions to both of these questions however, for the most part these claims are white noise.

As for the others I mentioned, why does the government pay the media to keep quiet, and why does it follow the major corporations, I’m not sure how to answer. Most of these claims are just rumors, and they have no merit, but I’m not sure how I would respond anyway. At the risk of sounding complaint, is the government's business really ours to be involved with? It's hard to say. When election time comes around, the potential leaders of tomorrow always make bold claims, but are they all truthful, or just bait to get our votes? We vote our leaders into office, so if we don’t like what’s happening there, maybe we should rethink our decisions.

Thanks for reading. This one is worth discussing because as with most things there is always a good and a bad. Most are happy with the way things are going, but even in good times, it is always good to question. We all have common concerns, but maybe we should spend more time on the ones with merit and not those that seem a little out there.

If you have anything to add to my list of resources, please comment down below or via social media. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Additional resources:

definition of authoritarianism,  authoritarianism and other governments,  how the government and business interact.