Why does America fear/distrust it's government?

[Something Amyss]

I was flicking through the American health service thread, and noticed that the main argument that the main argument against free healthcare was that they didn't want the government controlling it.
Most American's I've talked to also seem to distrust their government, a lot more than Europe does. Your constitution also seems to have been designed from the ground up to prevent the government from having anything more than a fringe affect on anything.

So, why does America distrust it's government so much more than Europe?

Would YOU trust anyone voted in by Americans?

I think the big problem is the legacy of paranoia and violence. We fetishise violence (ironically, even our military, which is controlled by DA GUMMIT!) which dates back to a time when we created our country by violently overthrowing the PTB.

Look at how romanticised the outlaw is, and how many people still want their state to secede. Hell, Texas elected a Governor who talks secession.

 

[Jumplion]

The whole fear/distrust to the American government is practically what this country was founded on. We are always afraid that the government will take control of just a little too much power, then BAM, socialist/communist society. That's not to say that it isn't completely justified, to an extent it is good to doubt and distrust government agencies, but it has been taken to such an extreme that people refuse to listen to any sort of solution that seems to just barely hint "socialism".

See, because of all of this yelling and hooting about "socialism" and "communism" and all this load of crap about "government take overs!" I tend to not associate myself with any sort of political ideal. I am not a liberal, I am not a conservative. I am not a libertarian, socialist, communist, marxist, radical ____, anarchist or whatever. I agree with some aspects and I disagree with others. Socialism itself is not an inherently bad ideal, it has some good ideas into it, which in practice may or man not work. Communism can work in some areas, maybe a little bit of anarchy thrown in. I honestly find it disgusting how the big wigs in this country, the liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between, restrict themselves to one ideal and adamantly refuse any other opposing system like ignorant babies wanting their bottle of milk.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

It's not a distrust of the government, it's a distrust of the state, and I tell you it's here in the UK too.

In the case of the USA in particular, there is a ingrained fear of too much control, started by them recovering from the monarchy after independence, and brought into the modern age with the cold war. Generally speaking, they see too much state control as a step towards communism and a dictatorship.

Ha ha ha! You know what's funny about that? The U.S almost became a dictatorship at the beginning. The "powers that be" actually offered Washington the option to become a dictator at the start of making the U.S. government. Thankfully he said hell no! Well actually it went something like; "I didn't help beat King Gorge the 3rd to become Gorge the first."
He also started the 2 term limit idea, and said political partys would only lead to in-fighting in government.

 

[Talson]

This is really selfish of me, but I just don't like a portion of my paycheck going towards programs that not only do I not benefit from, but that support people I dislike. I live in an area where a good deal of my former coworkers go strait onto well fair, and there are good reasons why they're "former coworkers." It just irks me that I get tipped sixty dollars a paycheck or so and get taxed eighty dollars. Maybe if I got something positive out of that, I'd see it differently.

 

[BabySinclair]

America disliked government when it fought the monarchy, has had several scandals over the years, has created a civil war, and the Cold War didn't help.

Most Americans are also ignorant of politics and scream "Socialist" whenever someone whats to improve their lives, ignoring the free schooling, library system, public transportation and infrastructure built by the government.

Really it's because we constantly elect idiots and morally bankrupt people into positions of power and the few good people we elect get ostracized when they try to help.

 

[FalloutJack]

I have absolutely...

...no idea, whatsoever.

 

[Terminate421]

Because they are men in suits who will be able to sue you for even the slightest thing and change our world around us.

 

[Doclector]

A government is a force that can and sometimes will ruin your life for no reason other than "we said so". Anything with that much power is to be feared or hated, especially when in the hands of people you don't trust, as is the case in the uk, as we have a rich little scumbag and a pathetic lying coward in charge, neither of which we truly voted for.

 

[Justin_Drew_Bieber]

Because they haven't Issued an official assassination order on me yet.

 

[Laser Priest]

American politicians are inherently corrupt.

 

[scar_47]

I dislike the government because its become a bloated bureaucracy it takes far too much time and in fighting between the two parties befor a half assed measure is passed that is usually rather ineffective. The government also tends to curtail freedoms which I am opposed to as long as your not infringeing on anothers rights I don't care what you do. How the US was founded also has a lot to do with it being oppressed by a government left a bad taste in our mouth that was passed down for generations. And lately the government has been involved in one giant mess after another and generally handles them poorly which is why your beginning to see third party movements grow. Were dissatisfied with how our government is being run I see nothing wrong with reasoned dissent I do see a problem with simply tolerating an ineffective government of any type. Power attracts the corruptable and we keep electing them the two party system really doesn't help since your forced to choose a side neither of which most people actually support it usually comes down to picking a lesser evil I'm looking for who will screw things up the least and thats not a good sign for any government.

 

[Moromillas]

? Is this a rhetorical question?

Why does that seem strange to you? (Does it really?) Maybe, if you could point out why one should put their trust in someone they don't really know, and probably don't see all that often - Then maybe it would make more sense.

 

[pineycorn]

because of the fucking patriot act.

 

[tehroc]

It's not a distrust of the government, it's a distrust of the state, and I tell you it's here in the UK too.

Aside from the fact that if left unchecked, the state would like nothing more then to expand into a nice Orwellian bureaucracy, it is a machine designed to be efficient, but sometimes forgets that people are involved.

In the case of the USA in particular, there is a ingrained fear of too much control, started by them recovering from the monarchy after independence, and brought into the modern age with the cold war. Generally speaking, they see too much state control as a step towards communism and a dictatorship.

My personal opinion is that the state is important and should be large, but still restrained. The state can be a vicious monster if left unchecked, but at least it's designed with the people in mind unlike the alternative, private industry, which is only interested in grabbing as much money as possible, which is not a healthy ethos for the most powerful people in any country.

Thank you for differentiating between the state and the government. Most people confuse the two as the same while they are very much different. The state exists entirely to protect property rights. A government is the will of the people for the people.

I'm more in fear of corporate control of our government and state.

 

[Kathinka]

what? just because they undermine the civil rights of their own citizens, violate pretty much every international treaty ever made, invade other countries for an strategic advantage, overthrow democraticly elected governements if they're not convenient, support bloodthirsty dictators if they are and last but not least maintain concentration camps where undesirable elements are held without legal basis.

what's there not to trust? ^_^

 

[faceless chick]

i think america loves its leaders WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more than the rest of the world does their own.

5% of people MAYBE trust our leaders here, and that's being generous.
80% would burn them at the stake if they could.

so yeah, america's way too trusting TBH.

 

[intheweeds]

It's not a distrust of the government, it's a distrust of the state, and I tell you it's here in the UK too.

Aside from the fact that if left unchecked, the state would like nothing more then to expand into a nice Orwellian bureaucracy, it is a machine designed to be efficient, but sometimes forgets that people are involved.

In the case of the USA in particular, there is a ingrained fear of too much control, started by them recovering from the monarchy after independence, and brought into the modern age with the cold war. Generally speaking, they see too much state control as a step towards communism and a dictatorship.

My personal opinion is that the state is important and should be large, but still restrained. The state can be a vicious monster if left unchecked, but at least it's designed with the people in mind unlike the alternative, private industry, which is only interested in grabbing as much money as possible, which is not a healthy ethos for the most powerful people in any country.

i would agree with you as you seem to have a well thought out point, but in Canada, we came from the same place originally as the Americans did and we don't have any problem letting our government give us healthcare. I don't understand either why its so easy for certain American officials to fear monger about this anyway, it's very easy to see it working in a major country right in their backyard.

 

[spartan231490]

I was flicking through the American health service thread, and noticed that the main argument that the main argument against free healthcare was that they didn't want the government controlling it.
Most American's I've talked to also seem to distrust their government, a lot more than Europe does. Your constitution also seems to have been designed from the ground up to prevent the government from having anything more than a fringe affect on anything.

So, why does America distrust it's government so much more than Europe?

And, for comparison, I live it the UK, and we generally get on ok.

Our country was founded because we felt that our government was abusing it's power over us. That probably has something to do with it. We simply acknowledge that when given power, human beings tend to abuse it more often than not, so we try to prevent this as much as possible in our government.