Hello Dutch Uncle,
Disagreed; cut through the blather of each and see what they really want to do. Are they seeking to expand freedom for all Americans or are they seeking to limit freedoms of all Americans? It doesn't matter if they are left or right, if it's the latter, then their aims go directly against American ideals.
What do you think is the purpose of government? Is it to control people or to protect their freedoms? Something else? Please explain.
Government is the glue that holds a country together. We have to have a government to have a country. Without a government we would have no way to be organized in any effort to solve any national or regional problem, protect from any danger, reach any common goal. Government is how we are organized.
Government must control people who become a threat to society. Government must also protect the rights and freedoms of the citizenry.
Government is a multi-tasking balancing act that attempts to resolve conflicting issues that would likely otherwise not be resolved.
Government derives it's power from the consent of the governed.
Government must create and enforce laws designed for the benefit of society. The people must do their part. A democracy depends on the active participation of a well informed populace.
When people want to be so selfish that they don't bother to get informed, nor participate in Democracy, government is allowed to be hijacked by special interest groups, usually the rich and powerful. Apathy is the death of Democracy.
That's one of our biggest problems. People don't even know how they are being ripped off. Corruption and the power of big money have created a vast wealth extraction machine out of the United States. Government has been co-opted to become an important gear in this giant wealth-extraction machine. It operates hidden in plain sight and chugs away every day, extracting as many dollars as possible from as many people as possible to gather them all together in the hands of a relatively small number of very powerful people at the top of the wealth extraction pyramid.
Basically, the USA has become a giant pyramid scheme, and most of us are at the bottom. People like Trump are at the top. They successfully portray the government as 'the problem,' but really, it's 'the system,' the corruption, the power of big money in the wrong hands. Greedy hands.
And the people at the top? They're sick. They think they are doing good things. They are convinced what they do is moral. Just because it has the appearance of official titles, sanctioned by law. The power of big money is so corrupt it makes it's own law. For it's own benefit. The people who perform this are insulated from the dirty work. They don't want to think that part of their work and investments is bleeding people with no resources dry, causing despair and perpetuating poverty.
But it is.
Government has an impossible goal.
Government is charged with organizing a country full of nefarious intent, glossing it over, and making it appear as if it is positive and beneficial to the cooperative.
Short version: Government is like trying to bake a great tasting pie while using a mix of fresh and rotten ingredients.
