Microstory 319: Safety from Chaos

This is an experimental Stepwisdom microstory. The introduction can be found in Microstory 300. More to follow.

Though everyone is worried about threats like terrorism, some people are more worried than others. I hear a lot of outcry about the government’s prying eyes. Everyone thinks they’re entitled to their privacy, yet also feel entitled to knowing what everyone else is up to. No one wants their browser history revealed to the world, but as soon as they find out their elected officials have been keeping secrets from them, then it might as well be the end of the world. People like to spout the word freedom, but they don’t really know what that means. The truth is that no country is completely free. If it were, it would likely die out, because that would be chaos. There is this thing called the social contract. Basically what this means is that you agreed to give up some of your rights in exchange for protection. This protection comes with stipulations; notably those in place to keep everyone within the population safe, even from each other. Some value this safety, while others only freedom. I happen to be of the first camp. You do not have the right to know absolutely everything the government is doing just because you’re a citizen, or because you voted, or because you pay taxes. National security is more important than you knowing “the truth”. And to that, we can’t just get rid of the government altogether, because then we wouldn’t be a country. We would be a collection of corporations, and I’m not sure why people want that. Libertarians want more “freedom” and less government. I want more government, and fewer terrorist attacks. You signed the social contract, whether you realize it or not. The government is there to prevent invasion, occupation, and annihilation by the hands of our enemies. It is also there to support the populace and guard against chaos. If you were a patriot, like me, you would understand that.