Governments are instituted...
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,... .......................Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence A worthy ideal, indeed, but more ideal than reality in general. Mostly, I think, governments are instituted to protect groups of people from rival groups of people. People have lived in competing groups since time immemorial, and before people, the same was likely true of their prehuman ancestors, as it is true of our closest animal relatives. With luck, your nation protects you from your fellow citzens as well as from external marauders. The combination of memory of the horrors of WWII and the threat of the Communist East persuaded much of Western Europe to form the European Union...