Editorial, the government church

I sometimes get exasperated at the tactics of churches. They want my money and to control what I do. They always need more in the offering plate, and they have this endless list of rules, telling me how to live my life.

Wait, did I say churches? Excuse me, I meant government. Is there any doubt that our government resembles the worst kind of caricature of a money-grubbing, overbearing church? Indeed, government has become preoccupied with extracting our money and changing our behavior.

Here’s what I mean. On the radio this morning was a torrent of advertising by various government agencies. There was FBI this week (fbi.gov), warning us about health insurance fraud. And boosterseat.gov, brought to us by the DOT, wants us to know how important it is to secure our children in the car.

HHS has a list of medical tests that will help keep you from dying prematurely. They are also running humorous spots about how eating healthy and exercising will get rid of thunder thighs and double chins.

There is also a barrage of ads about “buzzed driving is drunk driving,” paid for by ahrq.gov, an agency of the DOT. These ads are on day after day, all paid for by your tax dollars, brought to you by a government awash in red ink.

So here’s the tactics of behavioral change. First government gives us helpful information and reminders. Then they cajole. After that comes the guilt. Finally, laws get passed. It’s creeping tyranny, and it’s all because they know better than you how you should lead your life.

This is the nanny state. Government bureaucrats are so sure you don’t know how to make good choices that they are happy to tell you over and over again what they think you should do. And as a bonus they make you pay for it all.

Taxation also intends to make us do things. Certainly taxes are necessary, but taxation is becoming a bludgeon to achieve societal outcomes. Carbon taxes, gas taxes, booze taxes, tobacco taxes. All these are designed to change behavior. Same with tax credits. The Homebuyers Tax Credit is to encourage homebuying. The Cash for Clunkers program? Increase car sales. And the tax credit for buying a hybrid? To save the planet, right?

None of this has anything to do with funding government operations. It has everything to do with making you behave in certain ways.

It’s death by a thousand cuts. It is manipulation, the goal of which is to influence the behavior of people to achieve certain outcomes for the “good” of society. Their version of “good.”

Government has gone from securing our rights to being actively involved in shaping society. We have a new Savior. Sorry Jesus, you’re not needed anymore. Government is going to save the economy, it’s going to save the planet, it’s going to save us from eeeevil CEOs. And yes, it’s going to save you from your pathetic self.

Despite all this, so many are willing to go along with it all. It makes me wonder, what ever happened to the protestors from the 60s? You know, the ones who bucked the establishment, who stood up against the entrenched power structure, who fought the Man. Where did they all go?

There are people who wouldn’t darken the door of a church, but are perfectly willing to bow before government. They bristle at a Christian telling them what they are doing might be wrong, but more than happy to have the government dictate to them what they can and cannot do.

So welcome to the great church of government, where taxes are the tithe, voting is the confessional, and congress is the priesthood. You get the church you pay for.