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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:
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. |
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February 2018
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