What do we pay government for?

Submitted by Erich Wieger (United States), Oct 1, 2010 at 16:09

The purpose of government is the protection of our rights, our safety in exercising those rights, and the maintenance of justice. Beyond those purposes everything government does is optional. Government that cannot protect citizens from Islamicist intimidation, loses legitimacy. The essay book entitled The Enemies of Civilization comes to mind. It said that when ruthless outsiders are more ruthless than those who hold a code of honor to protect our rights and safety, then civilization becomes a sitting duck. Then those who exercised their rights are asked by an ineffectual government to go into hiding! We pay taxes and respect to government when government protects us, not when our leadership sells us and our rights.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".