Looking at Government

© Fernando Caracena, 2016

Introduction

In the news I see that European governments have transfer hoards of primitive, war torn people from the Middle East into Europe, putting a very heavy burden on the Europeans and their infrastructure, in the process destroying some civil order. Looking at all this, I ask the question, "Is government really necessary?" Or put another way, "What is the purpose of government anyway, and who gave the government so much power?" With governments like that who needs defence, and what the heck are borders for. Whoes government is it anyway?

Perhaps because most governments persist through many lifetimes, citizens accept government almost as a force of nature that they just have to accept. History shows however that there are times when some kind of tipping point is reached: the government goes too far, and the mass of common citizens rises up and overwhelms the power structure, establishing a new government. Historically, revolutions have not had very happy results for humanity. Think about the Bolshevik Revolution, or the rise of Hitler and Mussolini. In such revolutions, the citizens jump from the frying pan of frustration with government into the fire of revolution, chaos and finally a totalitarian control that is perhaps worse than their original circumstances. However, there are times when revolution has established something closer to to an ideal government, if there really is such a thing. This happened in the American Revolution of the Thirteen Colonies of North America from England; but alas, that form of government that the revolutionaries established has been decaying, until now it is almost reduced to that of a banana republic.

Humanity Without Government

From the archaeological findings we know that ancient man, anatomically similar to modern man, wandered the earth, surviving through marvelous instruments fashioned from rock, bone, and wood. They were hunter gatherers, moving with the seasons and guided by the stars. They passed on knowledge and wisdom to younger generations through word of mouth communication. Apparently, they had no written record, except for notches on bones that perhaps counted off days, or tallied up something.

They lived in small bands and were very adept at what they did to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves. This they accomplished by working only a few hours a day. Some would call them affluent, because their needs were simple and they could satisfy then in only three to five hours a. A lot of those work periods were actually fun--like pleasant outings. The Women and children went out to pick berries, gather tubers and other edible plants. Some of the children caught fish and captured small game. Men went out on a hunting expeditions. Later in the evening, the whole band of hunters and gatherers would get together for supper by a blazing fire. That event was also story telling time.

Ancient man had an amazing memory. The secret was in the constant practice of story telling and lack of distractions. By the fire, the women and men told of their day, the unusual things that they had seen. Old men would tell of the history of their people, and about the distinctive principles that they lived by. The astronomers among them codified their knowledge in the form of stories about the various constellations. Astronomy was an important science, because by it they could tell when to break up camp and move on to another, etc. The stars were their calendar, and the sun and moon were their clocks. Knowledge was perhaps the most important artifact of ancient man and it was preserved as stories told by word of mouth.

The fireside suppers of ancient man were also what we would call religious celebrations, because there was no separation of knowledge and wisdom into compartments and everything was freely shared. From artifacts, we know that ancient man had a spiritual nature. Even the Neanderthals displayed their spiritual side by burying their dead with some of their possessions and with flowers. There is evidence that ancient people cared for the lame, sick, and others such as widows.

To be continued

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