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Comment by ejr | Hacker News Reader

Because resistance is futile. The machinery of government explicitly favours authority and that very authority was given to them willingly by the voting - or non voting - masses. It is the authority that everyone, including the plundered, believe they must have in order to keep them safe. Resistance takes courage and a willingness to lose everything you care about, such as your prideful opinion, free time or an hour of your attention.

The sacrifice is too great for the overwhelming majority of the populace comfortable with what they have and a chronic aversion to all things unpleasant. I've lost count of how many people I've seen change the channel when news of war or police brutality come on.

When the effort needed to change government matches that of a retweet, we will see change.

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>> Why doesn't your society resist?

> Because resistance is futile.

Resistance is not futile. We are far bigger and stronger than they are. An organized and determined resistance could dismantle the police state.

But the vast majority of the population is uneducated, uninformed and unmotivated. They're unwilling to turn off TV and talk radio and participate in their community.

And the few who are educated, informed and motivated get discouraged when nobody joins them in their protests, when they're alone in speaking out.

Maybe it needs to get even worse before a critical mass of resistance will set aside their trivial distractions and organize themselves.

I appreciate what you're saying, but that just goes to show how large the barrier is to entry in governance. I fear you may be right that it may need to get worse before that resistance gains momentum. Which saddens me even more as I don't want to see any more lives destroyed.

> But the vast majority of the population is uneducated, uninformed and unmotivated. They're unwilling to turn off TV and talk radio and participate in their community.

That was always the case in past centuries (more so) and still, people frequently rebelled against malevolent authorities.

Have we become too civilized to resist? Or are we just too concerned with our individual well-being to sacrifice some personal safety for a common cause?

The non-voting gave no such authority. They decided that being able to choose whether the assholes had red or blue hats wasn't even worth ten minutes of their time, and opted to not take part in the farce.

On the other hand, the voting (even if they voted Libertarian/Paul) supported the election system itself, and signaled their agreement to be ruled by the inevitable outcome.

When the effort needed to change government matches that of a retweet, we're all screwed. People should take at least a little time to make a considered decision about where the government is headed.

Some things are dangerous when they become too easy. Like obtaining a driver's license, or purchasing a gun.

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