One of the ideological leaders of the Republican Party and the Tea Party movement, Grover Norquist, famously said, I dont want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it to the bathroom and drown it in a bathtub.
Ronald Reagan once said, government isnt the solution to the problem. Government is the problem. He also said, The most fearful words in the English language are Im from the government and Im here to help.
Of course, the Teapublicans have turned these quotes into mantras that drive everything they do.
For those who are inclined to jump aboard the bandwagon of anti-government sentiment, Id like to pose a few questions. If there is no government, who is going to defend you against terrorists and rogue nations? Who will build your roads and bridges? Check the safety of your foods? Check the qualifications of your doctors? And of your teachers?
Who will monitor the safety of your airlines? Of your drinking water and air? Who will pay the salaries of your police forces? Fight your fires? And help you recover from natural disasters?
We (you and I) created our government agencies to do what we cant do for ourselves. The days in which we could live without efficient and effective government ended when we ceased living on farms. When we ceased raising our own food and making our own clothes. Government is now as necessary as the air we breathe and the water we drink.
Without effective government, our nation would more closely resemble Somalia, Afghanistan and Columbia than England, France, Germany, Norway or Sweden.