Ideally, the maximum role of government should be to protect life, liberty and property.

This is obviously not reality, as the government is made up of elected officials, bureaucrats, tax collectors and the like who interfere with more than is necessary - essentially having regulations or control over just about everything we do.

I’m going to make the claim that most people, by nature, are inherently good. The police blotter on a typical day has about five people in it. Subtract the “crimes” lacking a victim, and there are maybe one or two folks who have stolen some property or hurt someone else. In a county with our population, assuming all agencies report their arrests to us, the majority of people around here are good people.

Now, that’s not to say just because your name isn’t in the police blotter you deserve respect ... you could be a disgusting human being who simply hasn’t gotten caught, or someone in power who slides by because the general population hasn’t realized that badges and titles don’t grant extra rights - but I’ll affirm my belief that most people are pretty solid, stand-up individuals

That having been said, why is it that we think we need the government have a say, a take, or a cut in just about all of our affairs?

You trust bureaucrats with the minds of arguably the most important thing in your life for eight hours a day if you are a parent with a child in public school. I took one class as a young adult during my public school education that I can honestly say fostered critical thinking and has continued to have a positive impact on my life (thanks, Mr. Bernstein). The rest were “take it or leave it.” I think home-schooling is a fantastic option. Maybe it’s not feasible for everyone, but I sure as hell am not going to have children unless I know I have the means (both financial and intellectual) to educate the child how I think is best. If you think public school is the best option, go for it - but I’d implore you to really think about it. Public schools are pumping out young adults with a mediocre - at best - understanding of any material drilled into their heads and it will do little to benefit the future unless outside education is also introduced.

While I think you’re free to educate your child however you please, I don’t want the government - essentially - molding my child’s brain for eight hours a day.

This brings me to something I’ll only touch on briefly for now ... school taxes. Regardless of whether or not I have children in the school district - or children at all - if I own property, I will have to pay school taxes. All because it will benefit the future of our community? I don’t think so.

Money taken from generally good people to pay for something they don’t support doesn’t sound like a fabulous idea to me - but hey, what do I know?

I’ll probably catch a bunch of slack for this one, so I’ll start out by saying I’m all for someone being homosexual - I don’t care in the least bit the gender of the person you love. The Supreme Court’s decision regarding DOMA is a big deal ... for people who support state-sanctioned marriage in the first place.

This brings me to a conversation I had with my brother more than ten years ago. He had just gotten out of the Air Force and was full of ideas he’d share with my sister and I. She wasn’t so accepting of them, but they seemed pretty logical to me. It was during that conversation when I realized the government should have no say in marriage whatsoever. Since when was love part of the role of the government? Believe me, you will never see me apply for a marriage license, ever. I don’t care if you’re straight or not, a license for love is ridiculous. Equal rights would be truly achieved by abolishing state-sanctioned marriage laws altogether, no?

Taxes are deserving of their own discussion, but quickly ... Since I own myself, I own the fruits of my labor. It is essentially my property. An entity that takes such property from me is thereby not protecting my property by any means. Maybe I don’t want the fruits of my labor to go toward salaries of people who use violence against peaceful people. Maybe I don’t want my property taken from me to be given to someone who is able to work and chooses not to. When were people deemed incompetent to do what they please with the funds they earn? If I had the extra money in my paycheck you know what I’d do? I’d support local businesses, help out families in times of need, and whatever else I please. I do those things anyway - but I’d be able to do more.

Instead, my money is used to help fund an educational system I don’t fully support, to pay the salaries of officials enforcing laws that put peaceful people behind bars (and guess where the jail receives its funding), and dozens of other unnecessary programs.

If people are - for the most part - good and responsible, why are they not trusted with their own property? Their own life?

The FDA supposedly is in place to “protect” and “promote” my health, but can “okay” drugs that have “black box warnings” with risks including suicide, sudden death, and major depressive disorder. The FDA tells me raw milk is not okay ... but Adderall is fine. Are people not considered responsible enough to be aware of what they choose to put into the bodies they own?

The DEA has marijuana as a schedule I controlled substance. Per the DEA, “Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence.” Really? Oxycodone, cocaine, and meth are scheduled as having less abuse potential than marijuana. Give me a break.

The DEA and FDA are a joke ... along with countless other government agencies. But I digress.

I suppose the point I’m attempting to make here - if there is one - is that I’m a pretty good person, and I’m willing to bet most of you are too. I’m responsible for the most part, and think I have the ability to act as I please, and should be free to do so as long as I’m not infringing on another’s life, liberty or property. Yet the government can infringe on these daily, and that’s alright?

When beginning to type “gov...” into Google, the first three suggestions that came up were “government jobs,” “government grants,” and “gov’t mule” ... give me the latter (a great band) and get rid of the rest.

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...@evesunashley