67 Government

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">America is the only Liberty-first nation. Liberty means that the individual comes before the group unless due process of law. A Socialist nation puts the group before the individual, and in fact, we have many socialist institutions in the U.S. because that happens to be the best approach for some things, the biggest being the military. However, our biggest socialist institution is government. It has to be: a government is supposed to think of everybody when it makes a decision. In fact, we The People hate it when someone gets special treatment.<br /><br />Modern government gave us the Industrial revolution, lengthened our lifespans, and protects our good life because we made a deal with each other to watch our back. Government’s role is to do the things private enterprise cannot do: protection, welfare, healthcare, environment & education, because those functions are both essential & vulnerable to exploitation. However, these are the only things Government owes its citizens. That's the difference between a liberty nation and a socialist nation: Government does not guarantee you a house, a job, or even food. Americans assume you are responsible for yourself, and if you can't make it then maybe we will provide some charity.<br /><br />I need Government to protect me from the tribe across the hill, enforce my contracts & my will, and take care of me when I'm ill. Anything else is up for debate, but those three things are pretty much mandatory.</p>