I consider myself a philosophical anarchist so I hear what you are saying but I believe you are somewhat naive. You are [to a great extent] what you are because of where you were born and raised. And whereby it is noble of you to desist from taking public handouts, you must understand that you have been given a great deal...by your parents, by your teachers, by the very fact that you have been able to eat food that is [more or less] free from who knows what and a somewhat clean water supply, plus all of the other bennies of being raised in a wealthy country.RCSaunders wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 3:42 am First of all there is no government that is, "my government." I am not responsible for anything that is forced on me against my will. When a thug takes my wallet at gunpoint, or a government takes over infrasctricture (leaving no choice of any other) I am not supporting the thug with my money and I am not supporting the government by using what is available (which the government does not produce any of but simply takes control of or confiscates from those who do produce those things, then takes credit for it).
If you support a political party, vote, are involved in politics in any way, or support any political candidates you are supporting the government. If you receive any aid, subsidies, or help of any kind from the government or use any so-called government services (like public education, unemployment, etc.), you are supporting the government. I don't do any of those things, and within what is practically possible, I evade all association with any government agency at any level, federal, state, or municipal and whatever relationship I have with any government agency or government employee is involuntary.
I don't, "fight," the government. I'm not an anarchist. Most people love government and would be terrified of living without one. I'm like H.L. Mencken who said, "I believe in only one thing, liberty, but I do not believe in it enough to want to force on anyone." I simply choose to live my own life as free as I possibly can because I could not bear living like those who subordinate their own life to some political, social, or ideological collective agenncy. But their governments will always end by making things worse for them, even killing them, but it's their choice. Unfortunately they are complicit in their own sufferihg.
Having said the above, I do admire those able to maintain a sense of intellectual and moral independence from modern systems that slice and dice its participants into beings barely capable of having a free thought [yet a free life].
I do not believe that people like government at all, but they cannot resist the idea of getting 'something for nothing,' the most effective carrot/stick ploy ever devised, be it from organised religion, governments, and especially corporations who have taken this ruse to levels never seen before [although George Carlin certainly makes the case that religion is the all-time champ when it comes to such things].
Life is not easy for anybody. Perhaps you shouldn't be so hard on the folks who are just trying to do their best [considering what they are up against].