Why We Are Not the Government

Bernie Sanders tweeted out the above picture, and specifically quoted FDR saying, "Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us." This is and was nothing more than political sloganeering designed to beguile as many boobs as possible into supporting politicians who do terrible things in their name.

How can we be sure this is nonsense? A simple thought experiment will suffice. If you were responsible for the deaths of several other innocent people what would you feel? If you really think about it your answer will likely be something along the lines of soul-rending horror. Yet government officials will bomb hospitals full of innocent civilians and medical volunteers and feel nothing other than a need to sweep it under the rug as quickly and painlessly, for them, as possible.

They will beat their chests and weep steaming crocodile tears over violence committed by private individuals one day, and remain completely silent after having committed an act of violence that would be impossible for any private individual to even consider the next. Not for we mere mundanes is committing an inexcusable atrocity acceptable.

Even if you were inclined to view violence favorably you are not part of the government. You see, only existing or previous agents of the state are given a license to kill, unless of course you become an agent of the state in which case your license will almost certainly retroactively cover any acts of violence committed before your agency began. If, however, you look to government officials as your guide and commit violence in their honor but without their sanction, then they will happily destroy you with greater violence.

But the entire issue can be summed up as the government is the nearly singular organization on the planet that can kill people with no repercussions. It's not murder but policy. You may go out every couple years to vote for Tweedle-dee or Tweedle-dum, but know that whoever wins that race holds your life in their hands. This is what separates them from us, and does in fact make them an alien power over us: They believe human life is expendable, and will kill whoever it would be too inconvenient not to kill.