In America today (not in abstract theory, but in reality), which of the three following options are true?  It is simple multiple-choice:

a)      Government is good and business is bad

b)      Government is bad and business is good

c)      Government and business are one-and-the-same

I’m not asking you to answer what you want to be true or what you think could someday be true.  The time for wishful thinking has passed.  That is so 1990’s.  I’m asking you to think about reality as you see it today.  Can you think of another possibility other than these three options?  I can’t.  So go ahead, make your selection.  The answer to this multiple-choice question is the start of understanding what kind of political movement you will probably find yourself believing in. 

If you believe that, in America today, option “a” (government is good and business is bad) is most true, then you must really disagree with most of what I said in this book (my cynical attitude about the US Government).  You must think that democracy is working quite well because, after all, Obama is President.  You must believe that government is, indeed, serving the interests of the people – that government is something separate from business.  Is this really the case though?  Perhaps this might have been true in the past, in Roosevelt’s time for example.  I suppose it is always true to some extent, but today there doesn’t seem to be much truth to it.  The only thing the government seems to be doing for the people is maintaining the few social programs left, minimal workers rights, and all the other stuff that Libertarians, Tea Party people, and Republicans want to eliminate.

If you selected “b” (that government is bad and business is good), then you also believe that, in the US today, business and government are somehow at-odds and are operating independently.  You believe that, without government, businesses would somehow be able to operate differently from how they do…even differently from how they seem to want to.  You believe that business would better serve you, not better exploit you, if government would just get out of the way.  I don’t quite understand the logic that business would treat me any better, as an employee for example, if it wasn’t for the government trying to protect my rights.  Actually I don’t get that at all.  Do you really think the free market would eliminate abusive jobs?  I don’t.  Maybe I’m missing something.  If you believe this, though, then you probably want all the programs eliminated that the people who selected option “a” value. 

If we do not believe that government can do good, then what we are inevitably left with is a government that does only evil.  If you end good (well-meaning) social programs like Medicare, social justice programs, environmental programs, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, libraries, parks, Public Education, etc., then what you are essentially left with is a government that takes money from you through taxes and gives it to private industry.  I can’t see why you’d want your hard-earned money taken by the government and then given directly to business so they can extract a profit.  That would be silly.  If I did agree with option “b”, then I would consider opting out from taxes altogether and I’d be a strong proponent of the Total Freedom Act.  Let’s eliminate all government and let the corporations make their own money instead of stealing it from us!

If you mostly identified with option “c”, you think that business and government in America today is pretty much the same thing.  You think that pretty much everything government does is ultimately to serve the interests of business.  You probably don’t believe this is right, just that this is the way it is.  You could say that government is something like the Human Resources department of Corporate America.  Just like a Human Resources department, you could say that the government’s focus is only to deal with those messy but unavoidable “human issues” while making us believe in the mission of the company.  

If you believe in option “c”, you probably don’t believe that fundamental change can come through elections.  You think that the Democrats and Republicans are pretty much the same in that they serve the wealthy elite while ignoring the people.  You think this should be different.  You probably voted for people like Ralph Nader because you think that government should be a strong, beneficial force that fights to improve the lives of “We the People”, does what’s right, protects the environment, etc.  You want your tax money to stop being handed over to big business.  In other words, you want to end corporate welfare.  Instead, you want government spending focused on programs that benefit real people, that improve the quality of our real lives, and that make the country a better, more comfortable place to live in.

As for the Republicans and Democrats, over the past several decades, the reality of choosing one or the other is that they are only marginally different.  This, in itself, wouldn’t be a problem.  The problem is that everything only continues to worsen.  In other words, the company called America is failing and it doesn’t really seem to matter who is in charge of “Human Resources”.  Even as we all watch and feel this downward spiral, most of us continue to spend our political energies fighting for one party or the other.  The proverbial pendulum keeps on swinging back and forth.  The problem is that the basic course we are on never seems to change.

Nothing will ever change as long as we remain in the grandstands cheering for one team or the other, the Democrats or the Republicans.  The course before us is clear as long as we continue to allow all of our political thoughts to be shaped by the pundits (who are really only corporate employees) on talk radio and on the cable news commentary shows.  We watched the Progressive energy that snowballed through the Bush years turn to the massive support of Obama.  Now, in looking at the reality of Obama’s Presidency (his policies), it is clear that he was a waste of their time and energy.  It is clear that the Obama Administration will bring absolutely no noticeable change to our lives.  Now we’re watching a Tea Party movement turning into nothing but a short-lived Republican revival that will also end in disappointment because the power structure behind it all is the same as it always was.  So it goes back and forth, yet only results in more of the same.  That’s great if more of the same is what we want.  The thing is, I don’t think this is what most patriotic Americans want.  To keep on doing that which brings us what we don’t want is insane.

It seems to me that we have three divergent paths.  On the first path, we can decide that we are happy with the way things are.  In this case, we can continue to do as we have done for the past few decades.  We can argue theory all day and night about Liberal or Conservative values.  We can tell each other how my ideas are more right and your ideas are crazy.  Meanwhile, the reality of the downward spiral in Washington politics just continues in the background almost unnoticed.  We can continue to beat ourselves up, or maybe find ourselves giving into despair each time we turn on the news and find that we have lost a bit more faith in the party that we voted for.  Maybe we can pray on it.  Maybe we can hope that at the end of this spiral is a dramatic rapture.  I add this part not out of sarcasm.  Real people actually believe this.  Who am I to say, for sure, that this may not be what is really happening, right? 

Maybe, indeed, we should just continue to reach out to our friends and families as party-line foot-soldiers and try to convince them to vote one way or the other.  Maybe we should continue to believe that everything would be ok if it just wasn’t for that damn other side!  We can continue to believe that this game we are watching the President play and the Congress play has anything to do with real life.  We can keep telling ourselves that what politicians promise us during the campaign may be real and legitimate (this time).  We can keep telling ourselves that the information that comes out publically is the whole story.  We can keep on believing that it is possible to change the Republican Party with something like the Tea Party movement.  We can keep on believing it is possible to change the Democratic Party from within.  We can keep on contributing our hard-earn money to Democratic and Republican candidates in the naïve hope that they will someday represent us.  In short, we can do just as we have been for the past few decades.  In so doing, we can expect a different result, right?

Maybe you believe that the Libertarian or Tea Party movement is the answer.  It might not bother you that it is funded by big business and is an arm of the Republican Party.  It might not bother you that your candidates are only saying the exact same things that Ronald Reagan said more than 30 years ago to get elected.  This time the outcome will be different, right?  You might actually believe, even though you don’t believe in government, that when this next guy or gal becomes a government bureaucrat he or she is going to somehow drastically cut government to the point where it isn’t interfering in your life, to where the budget is balanced, and to where government is no longer a problem.  You might ignore the fact that these few people are up against 100,000’s of others already in Washington fighting for just the opposite.  You might also ignore the fact that Corporate America seems just fine with the status quo and they have most of the power anyway. 

It seems to me that the best chance you have of experiencing the reality of your ideals is to fight hard for the Total Freedom Act.  Ask your favorite politician or talk-show host where he or she stands on the Total Freedom Act.  Watch his or her reaction carefully.  By simply asking the question, we can finally find out whether these influential individuals are sincere about getting government out of our lives.  My guess is that they will not support this idea immediately.  Right now, the situation is too good for them to want to give up.  But this is a reasonable request and it is a battle that can be won. 

If indeed, you are a true Conservative and genuinely believe in the free market, I firmly believe that this Total Freedom Act is your most realistic chance to achieve exactly the outcome you desire in your life.  We should all remember that what matters most are our lives, not what everyone else thinks or does.  If you believe that government is the problem, then the Total Freedom Act is the only idea that offers 100% of the outcome you claim to desire.  You will never get there as long as you rely on government (hell, you don’t even believe in government, remember?).

There is a third path.  You might be like me and believe that government could work and should work, but that ours just doesn’t.  You might understand that the functions provided by government are not just essential, but are completely desirable if we are going to live in a place that is worth living in.  You believe that government can perform well for us, it just doesn’t.  You know that any government will be far from perfect, but still that a democratic government has the potential to be the best mechanism ever invented to fight for the well-being of people over power.  In a word, you might simply believe in Democracy.  That’s really all I’m asking for – give us true Democracy or give us the option to be free from government.  I want government to only be accountable to the people.  That means every decision involves only a consideration of what is best for the people.  Anything less than that is something less than Democracy.  Exactly how concerned do you think our government is about the people these days?

I guess the only thing to do in that case is to first come to terms with the fact that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are going to lead us toward a true Democracy and a better government.  No other politician supported by big business is ever going to take us there either.  We also have to remember that, if a politician is not supported by big business, we will not see this person in the mainstream media.  The media is, after all, just another form of big business.  They will not let a true pro-people message get out (not if it goes against the interests of the company who owns that media outlet).  Ideas that do not support the agenda of the powerful elite will always be framed in a way that it isn’t to be taken seriously.  They will attempt character assassination and make it look like our side is on the fringe.  They will make our candidates seem crazy.  Each time they’ve done that in the past, we’ve fallen for it, started to believe it, and then started to distance ourselves from the person who is only guilty of being brave enough to speak for us.  When they continue to play this card again and again, are we going to continue to apologize for our ideas, continue to distance ourselves from our own movement, and behave just how the powers-that-be want us to?  Why?  And if we do, then what are our ideas worth?

Any real “people’s movement” will also have very little funding to get the message out.  But we do have the Internet.  There are presumably many people like us.  We could stop posting YouTube clips criticizing the mainstream media and calling that activism.  We could stop asking institutions to change when they are operating exactly as they intend to.  We could stop ourselves from going on and on in despair about how bad the Democrats and Republicans are, how hopeless the situation is, and how we are completely right in theory.  You know, we could actually get something done if we could stop being so distracted by the pretty bells-and-whistles in those bright and colorful TV landscapes.  I mean, we should stop kidding ourselves that we are fighting for change when all we are actually doing is acting like the guy sitting on the couch bitching about what’s on the TV.  The ideas and actions we need will not come from a corporation.  The ideas and actions we need will not come from any form of media that has any corporate sponsors.  The revolution will not be televised!  So pay no attention to the commercial media.

I also have a message for so many of the super-educated, purist Progressives who I do respect greatly.  But I have to say, you might do well to stop insulting those who think differently from you or haven’t come to your exact conclusions yet.  You talk a lot about tolerance and open-mindedness and yet you never fail to over-complicate everything and then sneer at anyone who fails to understand…or even happens to be in a different place at the moment (whether that be a person in a different state of mind, or person in a different State from those along the East Coast or West Coast, or even a person who lives in an “un-cool” neighborhood in an otherwise cool city).  You might have good intentions and you probably even have some solid arguments backed-up with lots of convincing facts.  You probably are really sharp, but sometimes you can act like a real jackass.  What good is it when you are right but lose the argument anyway?  Doesn’t it get tiresome? 

I believe there are plenty of Libertarians-at-heart who, after being confronted with the fundamental question posed in this book, will know that they would not choose to opt-out under the Total Freedom Act.  They might even begin to question the knee-jerk easy answer that “government is the problem.”  If you know anyone like this, send them a copy of this book and see what they think of the idea.  I know that this book doesn’t exactly reflect your values and isn’t written in the same tone that you are used to, but what harm can it do if your friends and family start to think of you as a person who does not fit completely, neatly into a box?  You don’t actually fit into that box.  I know you don’t.  You are a unique individual and the only true value you can bring to this world is exactly that uniqueness.

Regardless of where we stand politically, aren’t we proud Americans?  Aren’t we proud to be descendants of those brave radicals who survived the Wild West, of those great thinkers, those great inventors, those hard workers who came before us?  Are we going to be only a hollow shell of those generations, or can we become the greatest generation?  If so, maybe a good starting-point would be a simple act to restore America as that exception again…that place where pure, true freedom once again can exist.  I think we should all like to know that we have this option to opt-out in case something truly terrible happens, like if Sarah Palin becomes President!

I can no longer see any sense in continuing to use moral arguments to legitimize a system that is amoral (which ours currently is, right?).  In making moral arguments against this idea, you are effectively supporting an amoral institution (the current US Government).  Regardless of your opinion on the Total Freedom Act, it isn’t anyone’s rightful decision to dictate how someone else should choose to live.  I have no problem giving people at least the dignity to make their own decisions.

There are still plenty of other people who have spent the last few decades ranting about government as the problem who actually will decide that they do not want a life without government in it.  Guess what, now we all have a chance to work with these people and start to figure out what kind of government we do want (now that it has been decided that we do, indeed, want a government).  We can think about what a pro-people government would look like.  We can figure out the basic things government should do in order to play a more positive role in our lives.  We, as citizens, can try to find out where we have common ground and we can eventually form some kind of People’s Party to start winning elections and getting it done.  Maybe that party could be just as anti-Corporate as it is anti big-Government. 

This party, this movement, CANNOT accept money from corporations.  All support for this movement has to come from all of the people who are sick and tired of Democrats and Republicans.  The good news is that there are a lot of us.  The bad news is that we have only the streets, the telephone, and the Internet available to us to make this happen.  But nothing will ever happen as long as we keep falling for the sweet-talking Democrats, the manipulative and insincere Republicans, or as long as we only support candidates who we agree with 100%.  Isn’t it good enough that we accept any candidates who are on the side of the people and are prepared to act that way?  Perhaps some of these leaders can be Right-wing and some Left-wing, as long as they fight for the people and believe that government can be the solution.  This is going to be such a long-shot.  Believe me, corporate America will not stand for it.  They will try to destroy us even before we start.  We have to be smart.  We have to be strong.  But we can no longer afford to be as patient as we have been.

I also don’t want to say that government is the whole solution.  Government’s role has to be to look out for the people but also to let the market work.  Government’s role has to be to enforce fair rules so that business doesn’t cheat and steal from us.  Government’s role also has to be to allow entrepreneurs the chance to do business (rather than spending all day filling out forms). 

But government does have to become the people’s voice.  Everyone should be guaranteed a minimum, basic safety net.  The military should only be as large as it needs to be in order to keep foreign powers from invading us and also to handle atrocities around the world (like genocides).  Let the market determine the flow of oil and control of resources, not military power.  Government’s responsibility also has to be to offer every child an equal chance to reach his or her intellectual, creative, and productive potential.  The rich already have an advantage.  They have a bunch of money.  But the rest of us need access to an excellent education, all the way through University, paid for through a tax-system where the rich pay their fair share.  The government also needs to establish a healthcare system in which every tax-payer can go to the doctor without even thinking about money (like in every other country worth living in).  Government needs to leave us alone and let us be as free as possible, to enforce laws using only the appropriate amount of force, and to punish convicted criminals using an appropriate penalty.  In short, what we need is a government that is formed by the people…a government that will finally have our backs even as big business relentlessly tries to go on doing what it does.

This isn’t that complicated!  All of this is possible in a country as wealthy as the United States.  But it is only possible if the Democrats and Republicans are pushed into oblivion by a population that finally gets it!  We cannot get scattered!  We have watched this same rigged game for at least 30+ years and we keep getting fooled by the same playbook? 

I wrote this book because I believe that unless we first address the idea that “government is the problem”, nothing that can be said will ever be heard.  When the “government is the problem” card is played, all thought immediately stops and only silly ideological arguments ensue.  These days, this knee-jerk argument is being used against everything!  Clearly, it is a perfect way to shut down thought!  Well, now you have the antidote, in the form of one simple question. 

There is only one way I can think of to finally, as Americans, move forward once-and-for-all.  The following question needs to be spread far and wide: If you were offered the chance at total freedom from taxes and total freedom from government in your life, would you take it?