Countries are made up of people, and "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," at least that is what is stated in our Declaration of Independence. However, nowadays it is indeed a very hard thing to even swallow these very words: "Declaration of Independence", for back when those words were written, the representatives of the United States of America, declared that they had the right to be free and independent from allegiance to the British crown, whereas over two hundred years later, clearly the people are neither free nor independent from a country that has devolved into a government that behaves and acts effectively as an imperial law unto itself, that dictates to the people, what they can or cannot do with deliberate obfuscated reams of laws, and demands tribute through taxation from the masses, while protecting the elite from the same.
Every day in almost every way, we are reminded, if it isn't already clear to us to begin with, that there is a massive divide, between the people, and those that, in theory, represent the people, be it the executive branch, the legislative branch, or the judicial branch. There are many, many problems with today's government, of which, the foremost is the sheer size and power of the government forces aligned against the people. For instance, the budget of the federal government is $3.8 trillion dollars, but the federal government, is not even limited to spending up to that budget, as it actually spends way beyond that budget, and places the responsibility of making good on these massive deficits onto the people. So too there are many other governments on the local, municipal, and State levels, that the people must contribute their hard earned monies too. The money taken by the government from the people, is utilized to employ certain people, that make public policy and enforce public policy, of which, the upshot of all these people and all these monies spent is building upon building, institution upon institution, in which the people must request permission or must follow stringent rules, to even set foot upon such property or to utilize such institutions.
For instance, you want to drive the nation's roads, you must have a license. For instance, you want to open up your own business, you must have a permit and frequently have to have passed certain specific tests or have an approved higher educational degree. For instance, you want to sell goods to a neighbor, you must collect taxes on behalf of the state. For instance, you want to buy and maintain your own real property, which is your own home, you must pay property taxes on it or you will ultimately forfeit that home. For instance, you walk outside your home; you are potentially subject to essentially unlimited searches and seizures, by the policing agencies of the state. For instance, you are inside your own home, but the government routinely issues a no-knock warrant that enables them to take or control whatever property that you have, as well as to control you and your movements.
Does the government answer to you, on any level? Does the government represent you, on any level? Does the government have the capacity to spy and monitor you at all times without limits? Does the government have the power to seize and impound all of your assets and to imprison you, without warrant or warning? This is today's government, a law unto itself, and while for the most part, the government primarily targets the low lying fruit, such as petty criminals, specific dissidents, and drug abusers, it will ultimately demand complete subservience to its arbitrary dictates from the middle class, the unconnected and the non-elite, to either abjectly bow down to its imperial might, or suffer the boot placed firmly against the people's neck.