Do You Trust Your Government?

[The Captain]

A simple enough question, and a simple enough answer for me: absolutely not. With each day, this Bush Administration is caught in more of its lies, yet refuses to take any sort of responsibility for it. It enrages me to absolutely no end that these politicans believe they can get away with lying flat out to the citizens of America. The only solution is getting them all out of power. I don't think Kerry will be much better, but hopefully, he'll be a little more forward about things.

So, do you trust your government? Why or why not?

Take care all.

[Kirobaito]

No, because there's not enough explained things. Too many possible conspiracies, most notably the Kennedy Assassination. And the lies of the Bush Administration. I have never really trusted my government.

[Dr Unne]

I expect the government to hide some things from the people. It's necessary. I expect them to lie from time to time. The desire to be re-elected makes politicians do pretty much whatever is necessary. It's the nature of politics. The Bush administration is no worse than the Clinton administration, and if I was old enough to remember the administrations before that, I'd likely think they were all liars too. Nothing but liars straight back to George Washington, if you look hard enough.

Do I trust the government to always speak the truth? No. Do I trust anyone on the planet to always speak the truth? Perhaps one or two people in the world. Do I trust the government to keep the country going, keep me safe, help America prosper? Yes. I trust them to do what's in their best interests, and doing what's in the people's and the country's best interests is what's in their best interests, for the most part. Democracy keeps people at least semi-honest. Imagine what'd happen if we didn't re-elect everyone every couple years, and politicians didn't have the fear of not being re-elected to keep them partly honest. You'd have something like Cuba, for example, where people risk death in homemade rafts just to reach our shores. I trust that I won't be dragged out into the streets and murdered for disagreeing with the government, as would happen in a place like Iraq. I trust that I won't wake up one day and find that my family has "disappeared". I trust that I will get a fair trial before being punished for any crime. I trust that foreign armies won't be marching into my town to kill me, because our army is strong. I trust that I have freedom of speech and religion. I trust the government to protect my right to own property, my right to be free from harm from other people. Etc. etc. etc.

I trust my government because I sit here free, safe, and relatively happy in the comfort of my home, and that's far far more than most places in the world could even imagine.

[The Captain]

"I expect the government to hide some things from the people. It's necessary. I expect them to lie from time to time."

To be frank, that statement makes me VERY sad. Why do you feel this way?

Take care all.

[Dr Unne]

I feel this way because it's the truth. So far as hiding things, things should be hidden because of national security. I don't expect to know who and where all the CIA operatives in the world are, for example. I don't expect to know our battle plans when we're waging a war. Because telling me will also tell the enemy. And I don't need to know.

So far as lying, I don't think lying is necessary, though looking at my post again, my wording may have implied it. Lying is bad. But to say it doesn't happen would be naive. And if you lie big enough, you'll pay for it. I trust in democracy to keep people semi-honest, like I said.

[Kirobaito]

I agree with hiding certain things, but there are some unexplained events that just don't need to be lied about any longer. It's become full knowledge that Lee Harvey Oswald was not the only person behind the JFK Assassination, through sheer common sense. And I'm quite sure that the US Gov't knows more, or has the ability to find out more, and chooses not to inform us. That's just the way I feel.

[DocFrance]

I trust my government because it's my duty.

[The Captain]

Even if it means fighting for a cause you don't agree with, to ask a hypothetical question?

Take care all.

[Emerald Aeris]

Originally posted by The Captain
"I expect the government to hide some things from the people. It's necessary. I expect them to lie from time to time."

To be frank, that statement makes me VERY sad. Why do you feel this way?

Take care all.

Have you ever worked with large groups of people? If you have, you'd see why. A person, generally, is smart. People are STUPID. Masses of people will cause panic, hysteria, and riots. That's why. It's not necessary to know everything all the time. Let's face it, most of you really can't handle the truth. Group mentality can prevent people from making logical decisions.

Too many people don't appreciate what the government does for us. Houses are built, roads, cities. Anytime I'm sick, I can go to the doctors, and pay nothing at all. Police keep me safe. I have waste disposal. I turn on the tap, and there's fresh water. I suppose this doesn't have that much to do with trusting, but so many people (teenagers especially) seem to have this hate-on for the government that I think is completely undeserved. Everyone focuses on their mistakes instead of also looking at everything that's done for us. I may dislike certain policies or politicians, but overall I trust my government.

[DocFrance]

Originally posted by The Captain
Even if it means fighting for a cause you don't agree with, to ask a hypothetical question?

If that ever happened (which it has yet to), I would voice my opinion on the matter to my superiors, and follow through with my duties. I'd do everything in my power to make a change, but I'd still remember that I have a job to do. I'm not a mindless killing robot, after all.

Originally posted by Emerald Aeris
Too many people don't appreciate what the government does for us. Houses are built, roads, cities. Anytime I'm sick, I can go to the doctors, and pay nothing at all. Police keep me safe. I have waste disposal. I turn on the tap, and there's fresh water. I suppose this doesn't have that much to do with trusting, but so many people (teenagers especially) seem to have this hate-on for the government that I think is completely undeserved. Everyone focuses on their mistakes instead of also looking at everything that's done for us. I may dislike certain policies or politicians, but overall I trust my government.

Reminds me of a classsic seen from "Monty Python's Life of Brian:"

"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"

[The Captain]

Fair enough.

"Have you ever worked with large groups of people? If you have, you'd see why. A person, generally, is smart. People are STUPID. Masses of people will cause panic, hysteria, and riots. That's why. It's not necessary to know everything all the time. Let's face it, most of you really can't handle the truth. Group mentality can prevent people from making logical decisions."

I disagree. I think if all the facts are on the table, people will make the right decisions every time. Why can't we handle the truth, and who decides what we can or cannot handle but ourselves, really?

Take care all.

[Kirobaito]

Well, people today are quite stupid. They would overreact to something like what we have been talking about. I change my previous comments. If only there was a way for me to find out all this hidden info...

[Emerald Aeris]

After 9/11, I know many people who were very much for bombing whoever anyone said was responsible. People don't listen to the facts. If it were up to the masses, all sorts of people would be bombed right now. Masses will shout back "Yeah!!" to almost anything suggested. That's how group mentalities work. Being with other people seems to suck the brains right out of people. They don't listen to reason, they don't think it over, and they don't listen to the facts. I don't know exactly why. They get caught up, I suppose.

[Talus]

Ours not to question why, ours but to do and die.

Hooah

[Kirobaito]

Originally posted by Talus
Ours not to question why, ours but to do and die.

Hooah

I always thought it was:

"Ours is not the reason why, but to blow this joint before we die."

Seriously. Atleast that's what Rattrap says. And I have to listen to anything Rattrap tells me.