We owe our government some gratitude and appreciation

[Nightwise]

A quick thought that just occurred to me.

It almost seems to be a sport today to criticize and demonize everything about the government that we live under. In the minds of most, there is always something wrong, there's always bad people doing bad things, there's always corruption and scandals...

And whilst many of these things may actually be factually true and whilst there are some serious issues and concerns that need to be dealt with, we do completely ignore everything that out government has brought to us.

Our government is (at least partially) responsible for pretty much all the infrastructure that we have today that results in the comfort that we can live in today. But we just take it for granted...

Think about roads. Think about the sewage system. Think about electricity. Think about Social services. Think about Health care. Think about fresh water. Think about Gas. Think about the building that you live in. Think about the internet. 

Even all the items that you own are in part made possible by our government, because of all the infrastructure and services that I just listed above. It's all connected.

Yet all we tend to do is to complain about what is we DON'T have and about what's NOT good, rather than to see what we do have and the immense value that our government IS providing (even though it's not perfect).

So I think we all should take a step back and reflect upon the fact that all the comfort we have today and (almost) everything we derive a lot of value out of today is in part made possible by the government that we live under.

Edited September 27 by Nightwise

[Fearey]

It's entirely possible to do both. The moment we stop criticizing we stop improving.

Edited September 27 by Fearey

[Nemra]

Why and how did governments provide those services?

To think that the government is a separate entity that provides services for our hearts says little about itself.

Although I agree. There are some people who complain too much.

[thedoorsareopen]

I know this isn't the spirituality forum, but one of the whole challenges of being human is from the perspective of Love, there are a million things to be grateful for in literally every second, it's just that our survival-oriented brains exclude those from its narrative because it's oriented towards identifying problems to solve. It's closer to the metaphysical truth to become aware that every single thing that goes right is like a miracle, honestly. It's one of the reasons gratitude feels like an emotional cheat code, because you could always express more gratitude.

Obviously we need to be critical of government, but it's like we all get up every day just continuing to grind the axe, and after a while, if those are the only thoughts you register about the government, that it's bad, corrupt, etc, you create that.

My personal thoughts about the American government are like yeah, sure, there are a 100 bad things you can cite that were just never resolved, and represent ongoing threats to the rights of the individual. CIA plots, Patriot Act, drone bombing, whatever. But despite that, the government (and the society) delivers a certain high level of personal freedom and autonomy. It works. The government's not personally going to solve all your problems or make you a millionaire with a check in the mail, but eh, I've been in worse reality premises. 

It's something I can work with. But yeah ultimately it's up to us to create the realities we want. And I suppose if I'd befallen a serious problem like sickness, or being unable to work, those are pathways in our society that still need a lot of fixing to prevent people from falling through the cracks. It ain't perfect by a long shot, and as a citizen I hope I can help to see those problems move towards a real resolution.

But despite the common tropes in our society, I never had problems at the DMV, or getting services when I was unemployed. I even dealt with the legal system once, and expected that the legal process would be very unfair. It wasn't. It legitimately rehabilitated me, and I had a lot of respect for how every step of the process was handled. There was a lot of effort put forth to impress upon me that it was in the best interests of the state, and the society in which I live, for me to be a happy healthy human. I was surprised.

I'm just saying, there's the bumper stickers we repeat to ourselves every day. Life's a drag, politicians are crooks, this country's going down the tubes. But take a look, put your meditation hat on. Is that really what you're experiencing?

[VictorB02]

3 hours ago, Nightwise said:

A quick thought that just occurred to me.

It almost seems to be a sport today to criticize and demonize everything about the government that we live under. In the minds of most, there is always something wrong, there's always bad people doing bad things, there's always corruption and scandals...

And whilst many of these things may actually be factually true and whilst there are some serious issues and concerns that need to be dealt with, we do completely ignore everything that out government has brought to us.

Our government is (at least partially) responsible for pretty much all the infrastructure that we have today that results in the comfort that we can live in today. But we just take it for granted...

Think about roads. Think about the sewage system. Think about electricity. Think about Social services. Think about Health care. Think about fresh water. Think about Gas. Think about the building that you live in. Think about the internet. 

Even all the items that you own are in part made possible by our government, because of all the infrastructure and services that I just listed above. It's all connected.

Yet all we tend to do is to complain about what is we DON'T have and about what's NOT good, rather than to see what we do have and the immense value that our government IS providing (even though it's not perfect).

So I think we all should take a step back and reflect upon the fact that all the comfort we have today and (almost) everything we derive a lot of value out of today is in part made possible by the government that we live under.

Travelling Southeast Asia made me wake up to how good we have it here, and how most people who whine and complain about America are completely ignorant of how good they have it.

[Atb210201]

This is true.

Anybody who wants to do politics should be aware and I think they are aware of this fact that when they go into this job now all eyes are on them and people are very harsh and hard towards them and have too much expectations from them all the time and all kinds of people also they all have their own expectations from the people in power or people in the government.

The government itself is a collective thing too and can be with quite different views on subject matters within it too but it's still amazing how everything is connected and works for everyone's benefit.

Edited September 27 by Atb210201

[Nightwise]

It's funny because I expected a lot of pushback from you commenters, but it didn't happen to be that way (so far) 

[Leo Gura]

23 hours ago, Nightwise said:

Think about roads.

But bro! Taxation is theft!

Seriously, though, your post is starting to get it. Good work.

Edited September 28 by Leo Gura