re: #252 SanFranciscoZionist

Rabbi Chanina taught: “Pray for the welfare of the government, for without fear of governmental authorities people would swallow each other alive.”

That’s one reason the runaway vilification of “gummint” in this country bothers me. Heaven knows there is plenty to criticize in government at every level in this country, but current attitudes seem to go well beyond that. Hatred of, and opposition to, the very idea of government seems to have become the cultural norm among some elements of society. A lot of this is rooted in the kind of individualistic mythology we see among the more radical adherents of survivalism. Their cherished fantasy is that they would actually do better in a world where their individual strength and will were not thwarted by collective forces. In crude terms, this is the belief that once society collapses, Jim Bob the macho man will be free to take whatever he likes at gunpoint or with just the manly force of his best John Wayne stare.