They're called the formative years, because they shape who we are.
In those years, most of us were raised to believe that;
The government is us (through democracy)
The government cares about us
The government is crucial in staving off chaos by maintaining a well ordered society
Then life happens; and starts throwing counter examples at us.
Maybe everyone you know wanted the guy to win the election; but the other guy won.
Maybe you called the cops because your bike was stolen, and they were totally disinterested in helping.
Maybe you noticed your council rates kept increasing while the quality of your local park deteriorated.
For a lot of people, pushing those counter-examples aside, finding a way to write them off as outliers; is crucial.
They know that without the government holding all of this together, society would collapse.
What they were taught in childhood really took root. It became part of their identity. It makes them feel safe.
They start to pile up though.
As time goes by, ignoring personal experience in favour of conditioning takes more and more mental energy. It's exhausting.
The last couple of years have been particularly hard.
The only reasonable conclusion; that we're cattle to them, is unthinkable. It simply can't be true. Not because the evidence says otherwise, but because of the implications.
Its too horrible to contemplate, so the mentally draining tension continues.
After decades of this, they're tired. So very tired.
Always knowing they might be only one or two dehumanising interactions away from having to face it.
But what if this could be resolved without contradiction?
What if there was a way to achieve peace of mind, while never having been wrong or deceived or complicit?
A way to finally and forever be free of that nagging, inescapable, unthinkable conclusion?
"The government cares about me, and told me to come and get this medicine. When I survive and the people who don't get the medicine get really sick or die, I can push away that unthinkable conclusion, maybe forever.
On the other hand if they want me dead; I'll never have to live through the post-apocalytic hellscape that's coming.
Hunted by the government; scavenging food out of dumpsters. I don't want to have to try and survive the collapse of society, haunted by my past of ridiculing heroes and defending villains; or be forced to actively kill myself to escape it.
If I die suddenly in a warm bed with a full stomach, I never have to be wrong. I'll have dodged the unthinkable conclusion for my entire life."
Either way the tension will be gone. The battle will be over.
Try to imagine how wonderful that sounds to those people.
One final charge. Push it back just long enough to walk into the re-assuring setting with the well dressed professionals; and you're only a little pinch away from finally ending this protracted battle against the unthinkable conclusion.
You'll never have to live in a world where the government doesn't love you.
