Originally Posted by
Aaron Gustaveson
Never understood what people mean by "the government" our government is made of "elected representatives" (corporate whore shills) but do they really have common goals or organization?
true, "the government" is a pretty general term. It can mean different things in different contexts. I disagree that the government is made up of elected officials, that too is an over simplification. Large portions of the government are not elected officials. A large portion of government work is done by agencies that might have been created by elected officials, but to say the government is made up of elected officials is untrue. Fish/game, dmv, law enforcement, courts and the senate are all government, only a small portion of them are elected officials. Regardless, when you say that the government is made up of elected officials, I still knew what you were talking about.
I don't think by using the word government you are implying that they have common goals or purposes. When an anthropologist says people have a large frontal cortex, it is saying that every human has one, nor is it saying that all humans have common goals or organization. My point is: I don't think it is particularly helpful to ban any/all generalizations.
I always felt like when I talk about "the government," there is a certain level of understanding that I'm not saying every single person who is involved in the government is X. I'm just talking about who ever is responsible. But, if we waited to know exactly which person in the government was behind a decision before we criticized it, I think it would be impossible to change our political system
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