The "Government's" Fault

 What? I listened to a woman on a podcast today blaming "the government" for river flooding that took her home. She said, "The government did it." Another individual who lost his home due to a forest fire blamed "the government".  It goes on and on and we hear it everyday on air. Who is "the government". Folks who belly ache constantly about "the government", I have news for you. The "government" is you. Yes. Y-O-U. You pay taxes to take care of your needs and most of the time forget that nothing is free. The "government" gets it's money to pay: for hospitals, schools, transportation, maintenance and hundreds of  other things. The money doesn't come from some money tree in their backyard.  The "money tree" is money you put there in the form of taxes and elected the people to dole it out. When you expect the government to pay you huge amounts of money because Mother Nature offended you in some dreadful way, remember that. Tending floods and forest fires and earthquakes and storms and every other kind of natural event, costs insane amounts of money even before those who lost, began complaining and sure, they are hurting. Helicopters and airplanes, personnel and tools and equipment and relief isn't cheap. While you are  complaining about the tax burden, use your head. It has to come from you.  If you lose your house that is built on a river bank and the water comes up every single year as it has forever, remember that "the government" can't just scribble up a cheque you can take to the bank immediately and build you a nice new house. The government can't cure cancer and it can't fix what happens on the street when no one else is around in the middle of the night and it is formed of people like you and me who are ordinary citizens who run for office and put up with a lot of guff to get to a position where they want to help. They aren't all the slick politicians who shuffle around in the designer suits in  a raucous parliament in nice seats with clerks and offices and have nice salaries and get large pensions. Most of the local politicians are subject to abuse by ignorant people how know nothing about democracy and want only their own way. Yes, I rant. It makes me shudder when policepersons are deliberately called and go from their own families, to to help and then are wounded or killed. They are family people who are in the thankless business they chose because they wanted to do something for their society. The ones you hear that abuse their position, are mostly media fare to sell news. The good cops are the majority and just ordinary people like you and me.  Think of a world without police coming to your aid. Is that what you want? Chaos. Part of the darkening world these days could be called, Spoiled Bratism. They want "the government" to fix their problems, no matter how large or small or impossible. How many of these people helped themselves? How many got into a problem that could have been avoided in the first place. I have no sympathy for those who know the chances, beforehand of what could happen. Why didn't they stop it?  Why do they wait until it is a problem grabbed up by the media to sell news?  And why do they want tons of "the government's" money, our tax money, to fix it? Cynical? No. Realistic.