A lot of people are hopping on the "bash big government" bandwagon these days. I've never had Uncle Sam interfere in my life to the point where it angered me or limited my freedom. Have you ? I pay my taxes by April 15th every year and I don't whine. Just the way I was raised. Many of the voices I hear echoing the refrain about big government being the big bad wolf have some casual knowledge of The Constitution at the ready to level an argument on why they shouldn't have to pay their fair share of tax. I wonder how many self styled purists can recite The Preamble Of The Constitution Of The United States ? Some might, but likely not all.  In case you cant summon immediate recall, here it is:  "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America" . Let's break it down without getting in a bunch and putting our head up our righteousness butt. First of all, "In order to form a more perfect union": The founding fathers, who could read, (and did) and didnt merely echo opinion without research seemed to know it wasnt going to be perfect, nothing is. More perfect is what they were aiming for. More nearly perfect would probably be the accurate way to say it, because you cant have something more perfect than perfect, right ? I digress.  Next up, "To establish justice". Innocent until proven guilty, with the right to remain silent. Ever had a brush with the law in a foreign land ? Some local mickey mouse jurisdiction in The Carribbean ? When you get back home again that flag looks really good. "To provide for the common defense" ... I dont live in a survivalist paranoid state, but when I watched the north tower of the World Trade Center fall to the ground on Sept 11 2001, and smelled the burning jet fuel - and whatever else - I have to admit my first thought could be summed up with the word "eradication". When the F 15 Eagles strafed the skyline of Manhattan, their sound roaring thru the concrete canyons I just about had tears in my eyes. "Go Guys", I said. That said, is there excessive waste in the Pentagon or any other government branch ? You bet there is. There's waste in your grocery budget too. Maybe take a look at what you get in this nation rather than what they take from you. Ask yourself honestly if its a fair deal. Ask yourself if "you" are okay with what you pay versus what you recieve... not what the other guy is saying. Is it a fair deal to you ? You cant just look at your paycheck witholdings to answer that question. Thats what a 6 year old might do... ala "hooray for me and the hell with everybody else".  Look outside your selfish sphere for just a minute, once a day. It's okay, you wont turn into a pinko. You can go back to being Clint Eastwood all self sufficient on the front range later on. If you want to take a covered wagon trail to a neighboring state instead of The Eisenhower Interstate System , be my guest. Your tax dollars built the nations highway system, national parks, and paved the way for the local fire department to come put water on your house. If you dont like government oversight then maybe the local warlord who holds all the cards of control can decide whether he wants to put your flames out or not. Maybe he doesnt feel like it. Maybe he doesnt like the way you part your hair. Maybe you dont go to his church. Think about that for a minute.  Here's the one though that gets people all militant and nasty : "promote the general welfare".  I can hear the refrain ... "Hey'" they say, "Why should I help him, I pulled myself up by my own bootstraps" Good for you Butch, now help someone else in gratitude for your good fortune.  So, are you your brothers keeper or not ? Cain and Abel right ? Not bad for a cranky Yankee heathen. Is there welfare abuse ? Of course there is.. its human freakin nature, you know that, you're not an idiot. Remain vigilant against any type of excess, that's common sense.  All you have to do in The United States is pay your tax. For your contribution, you get protection, freedom, and justice.  Not sufficient you say ? I hear there is plenty of land in Sudan. Matter of fact , in the land of the free and the home of the brave, you can even whine about it if you want, without fear of incarceration and you can vote to try to tweak the rate if you think it's unfair. Just like Joseph Stalin, right ? Personally, I'm okay with the deal. One more note: if you think Social Security carries the mark of the beast, you will of course be so humbly righteous as to turn down your share when you're 62 or 65 or whatever , right ? That's what I thought.