It always irritates me when people say “The Government.” It’s something you hear all the time… “The Government does X” or “The Government wants to Y.” Most often it comes packaged in the form of a conspiracy theorist complaining about the evils of “The Government,” but it’s a rhetorical shortcut almost everyone uses once in a while.
I’m not sure who “The Government” is. I’ve never met this person. Apparently he is rather important and somehow exists in a vacuum. I imagine “The Government” looks something like the big monolith in 2000AD? Is it a place I can go to where the sign on the door says, “The Government” and there’s like three dudes in there making decisions?
But the thing that really confuses me is when people speak about “The Government” as though it is an external entity that installs itself on people from without. It’s like, we “The People” were just normal folks going about our business and “The Government” came from outer space to impose itself on us against our will.
Our national debate would probably be a lot more productive if people stopped referring to “The Government” as a monolithic bogeyman.
This thread basically boils down to “liberals see the world one way, conservatives see the world another way.”
The word “government” is a collective noun. It’s no more conspiratorial to refer to “the government” than it is to refer to “the Green Bay Packers.”
And “the government”, for several people at least, is an externally imposed entity. I was in no way consulted about the invasion of Iraq, Operation Prism, ACA, etc., etc., etc. Yet, I live with the consequences.
This isn’t exactly new either. I was taught in Sunday School that the word Pharaoh is, likewise, actually a reference to the Egyptian king’s palace.
In the USSR, it was always “The Kremlin” (rather than “Moscow”). In England, it’s “The Palace”. In the United States, the individual state capitals are also given this treatment: “Sacramento announced today that . . .”
You voted for (or against) the elected officials who decided to do these things. Or you had the option of voting – if you didn’t do so, then shut up – your opinion doesn’t matter.
The Government is also comprised of civil servants - I was one for several decades - who, for the most part, are people coming to work every day doing a job. In reality, they’re no different from any other people going to work every day, doing what they have to do to support their families.
It cracks me up when people talk of Government Conspiracy as if there’s this big secret society plotting against The People. Yeah, there are power-mad assholes in high positions, but the vast majority are just trying to make their rent. And the very idea that this massive group, or any big group, could keep secrets and form a conspiracy is just laughable. I worked in several jobs where I needed pretty high security clearances, and I know there ain’t no way that could happen. Too many blabbermouths out there.
How does the saying go: Three may keep a secret if two are dead…
I don’t have a problem with “The Government” used as a collective term in some contexts. You have to understand that the government is a collection of many different branches and subdivisions, but we can still talk about “women” or “Christians” or “cats” as collectives composed of unique individuals. If “The Government” is used that way, then fine.
I do share the OP’s frustration, though. “The Government” is often trotted out by people espousing really stupid ideas that would be clearly seen as stupid if they recognized that there is no single monolithic entity. “The Government” is not listening to everything you say on your phone; even if some part of it is, that information is certainly not available to every public employee like the county wildlife official who drove past your house yesterday.
I especially love theories that assume all of the millions of people working for “The Government” also share the exact same mindset. Because obviously they’re all clones of each other and couldn’t have differences in race, religion, economic background, education levels, political preferences, etc. If one person at the IRS was rude to you, it indicates that all 105,000 IRS employees have it out for you specifically. There was an all-hands staff meeting about you just before you called.
So checking a box once every two to four years is equivalent to actually having any say in the invasion of foreign nations, mass surveillance, etc, etc? You have such a childlike faith in representative democracy that it warms the cockles.
Plus, " if you didn’t do so, then shut up – your opinion doesn’t matter" doesn’t seem needlessly confrontational to you? If I think invading Iraq was a horrid mistake and I didn’t vote, then my opinion become null and void? Please elucidate your thinking on this point.
They were on the way before the first word was posted-they “can” and “will” read our minds
Sheet no. They might have to kill themselves from it coming public
(TPTB) in other words “assholes”
was civil a auto correct for evil?
It may have been different for you and a small section of us working stiffs that actually work and are pround for ourm hard work to get our mighty pay check but most everyone is just doing as little as possible to get thru their day to get to pay day. I think it will be increasingly worse as the younger crowd finally get jobs after we (the baby boomers) finally die off.
there are power mad assholes? Insert the words “a lot” or “several” or “most” in the appropriate space
Forming conspiracies? Well when they are threatened with losing their jobs or family members I think they would keep their mouths shut for a while
Yes, news does escape to the general population to explain the conspiracies, but it still happens and if you want to call them conspiracies.
Did anyone hear about how the current POTUS ordered our overseas inteligence reports to be downplayed. Seems like that was just a small blurb of “network” news, never to hear about again
Oh we can spew out many conspiracies from over the years. Many. (course dont call me on it:dubious::eek: )
Okay, being a Yank myself, I didn’t state clearly what the British do. “The Palace” is what they say when any pronouncement issues forth from the Queen or any of her spokespeople. So you wouldn’t really call that the “Government”.
Quite. For us “the Government” is the Prime Minister, cabinet and junior ministers and the civil servants and other apparatus of central government: it seems to me, what you might normally use “the Administration” for, since the concept normally carries with it the identity of the party in charge of the government at any given time. It’s not like a President having to negotiate with a Congress with its own ideas. The Opposition opposes - it tends to have at most only indirect effects on legislation and administration.
For different aspects of the central constitutional/political set-up: “Westminster” = Parliament collectively, “Whitehall” = the Civil Service, “the Palace” = the Queen and her staff.
For anything to do with local government: “the council” (even in those places where we have directly elected mayors), which presumably corresponds to where you might say “City Hall”.
For anything wider, it would just be “They” - “They ought to [ban this or that, usually]”
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