A nation is not a business. A nation is a haven for human souls.

[Maineman]

20. What a typical nation is versus what it could be, or should be?

We seek a more perfect union...

which means several things. But at its core, a nation could/should resemble a coop, or a collection of coops, the citizens coming together to elect skilled peers to organize and manage processes that make the organizations function effectively for the benefit of everyone - to the extent humanly possible. The management structure is called government. Those who see the world in terms of authoritarian structures, see government as domineering, and resent it. For example, they hate taxes because they think the government is taking from them. Those who see the world in terms of potential coops see the government as their friend and agent. They realize, for example, that taxes are their way of supporting the public good by supporting the structure that works to maintain the well-being of the citizens.

When government becomes little more than a tool for businesses to manipulate for their benefit, as many of ours have become, then the ideal of citizens cooperating for the public good is completely lost. The result is hollow, morally impoverished, self-serving manipulators with no sense of fairness or justice. We get greed, polarization, rampant lying, corporate profiteering, and government corruption. We get today's Republicans.