I haven’t figured out a way to solve the problem that allowed this to arise….complete lack of engagement in the political system among most of the working class, and lack of taking our leaders to task and making them answer hard questions every day and showing up at their constituency offices daily. It’s pretty hard to be civic minded and keep leaders accountable when you’re working a “50 is the new 40” job and using what little free time you have to push your life and your kids forward. That’s why freedom in a society always ends up cyclical. No one makes standing up a priority till the pain reaches a certain threshold, then everyone explodes in revolt. Maybe I’m making excuses, but I honestly didn’t know that the government was my enemy until I was well into parenthood. My parents never said shit about taxation, the monetary system, or the dangers of socialism when I was growing up. It’s like the slide has been so gradual and the collective awareness of the dire problems has proliferated so slowly that we are living in inevitable times.