Our Government is a Mess Because We Are a Mess
Why We Can't Just Tear It Down: Reclaiming What It Should Be
Quick Overview:
While government is often criticized as ineffective and corrupt, it ultimately reflects our collective humanity—both our struggles and aspirations. Too many rush to reject it outright, but simply tearing it down leads nowhere good. Instead, we must recognize government as an essential framework for organizing our national “family.” While there is much to value and defend, we must also confront government’s systemic challenges honestly—naming specific failures like corporate capture, the dismantling of our social safety net, and the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few. We must acknowledge how our own everyday imperfections—and even our deeper collective and individual traumatic wounds—are etched into its form. But we cannot accept messiness as an excuse for injustice. We must stand up to corruption, engage critically rather than cede our power, and commit to co-creating more compassionate, responsive, and humane systems of governance before democracy itself slips through our fingers.
Humans lived in small, tightly knit tribal communities for roughly 95% of our evolutionary history. Civilization as we commonly understand it has existed for a fraction of that time, and our modern form of society is even newer. In fact, global population growth has skyrocketed in recent decades. In 1974, just fifty years ago, the global population was half what it is today. We grew from 4 billion people—a staggering number even then—to today's 8 billion. Similarly, the United States had half its current population of 340 million just a few generations ago.
Our growth has been exponential, stretching the limits of what our systems—and we as people—can easily manage. This rapid expansion places an enormous burden on the structures we rely on to function together. We're essentially evolutionary infants, still learning how to live together at these unprecedented scales—nationally and globally. Managing that complexity is no small task.
If we want to live together meaningfully, we need structure. That’s where government comes in—like it or not. Outside of authoritarian regimes (which ours seems to be disturbingly teetering towards), a government of, by, and for the people remains our primary tool for organizing society. In the United States, as a democratic republic, we collectively set the stage for how we govern and care for one another.
Our National Family
I find it helpful to think of government in familial terms. We are a human family—and within the United States, a national one. Like any healthy, functional family, we need structures and supports to thrive. Government is the primary tool we use to organize ourselves—and ideally, to foster our capacity to live happy, meaningful lives. While it often falls short of its full potential, it remains the critical mechanism for achieving societal goals—and perhaps most importantly, for keeping us from descending into chaos.
So why does government get such a bad rap from many factions? And right now, those in power seems to be trying to almost fully dismantle it. Disturbingly so.
Undeniably, there are many valid challenges we could list out—misallocated spending, corruption among politicians, excessive corporate lobbying that defines too much public policy, the outsized influence of dark money and wealthy donors, and bureaucratic inefficiency. Yet, consider our personal families or social circles: Are they free from overspending, poor decisions, and dysfunctional compromises? Hardly. The reason our government experiences problems is precisely because we as individuals, families, and communities carry similar struggles. An absolutely perfectly functioning government won't spontaneously appear when we ourselves remain imperfect and evolving. Sorry to call this out, but our government is ultimately a reflection of us. Gulp.
We human beings are messy! To some significant degree, the reason our government has the problems that it has is because we have the personal and social problems we have. Naturally, it’s going to be messy too. Our governmental challenges—just like those in our individual lives—are a part of the human experience. Accepting this messiness as part of our growth and evolution is crucial. Resisting our inherent complexity prevents us from realistically embracing what is possible and working constructively within that framework. When we resist or deny our inherent complexity, or even worse, demonize it as many do with government, we lose the chance to honestly assess what’s possible—and what’s not. Only from that place of realistic acceptance can we begin the real work: showing up in healthy, sustainable ways to mend its course, instead of trying to tear the whole thing down, as some are doing now.
Just as I strive to grow in my own life—actively working to be a better person, family member, and community member—we must collectively strive to improve how our government functions. How much does the average person genuinely engage in civic life? Beyond merely voting, how deeply do we educate ourselves about government operations, exploring beyond quick soundbites and biased media designed to provoke outrage on cable news, social media, talk radio or podcasts? True improvement demands deep engagement and active participation—and acceptance that we need strong governmental structures to hold and guide us in healthy ways.
At its core, the challenge of living well together—at this scale—is one of the most meaningful callings of our time. We need intelligent, compassionate, cohesive organizing systems to support this purpose. Government, ideally, mirrors a healthy family structure at a national scale. Rejecting it outright risks a toxic denial of ourselves, of our interconnectedness, a rejection born perhaps from personal or collective trauma and mistrust. The discomfort and messiness we experience are natural parts of this growth.
Demonizing Government, Damaging Ourselves
Yet, constantly demonizing government can inadvertently become a form of self-condemnation. In the U.S., the hyper-individualistic “everyone-for-themselves” mentality often stands at odds with meaningful community and collective well-being. Why are many Americans desperate to be left alone, even resisting helpful support? Perhaps for many it is because beneath this fierce independence lies unaddressed pain, rage, and trauma accumulated from a lifetime of feeling let down, misunderstood, or betrayed by authorities—be it family, institutions, or the government itself. When supportive relationships feel foreign or unsafe, effective governance and genuine community can become frightening. Organizing structures are seen less as supportive guides and more as threats to wounded autonomy. To truly heal, we may need to first acknowledge and confront the trauma underpinning our resistance to healthy government and communal living.
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While some critiques of government certainly hold truth, they are often exaggerated. Evidence of government functionality abounds. Advocates who champion greater local and state control and far less federal sometimes mask their intent to dismantle essential programs at all levels—programs vital for uplifting our communities and especially supporting our most vulnerable populations. (That isn’t to say there are not righteous arguments for expanded local and state control.)
Others argue for privatizing many government functions, but do we really want corporate America steering our societal ship? Profit-driven capitalism often prioritizes earnings over humanity, leaving far too many behind. And are they really that well-oiled themselves? Think practically: When contacting a bank or phone company for customer support, as just one small example, how often do we endure endless transfers, long waits, robotic hang-ups, and intense frustration—all symptoms of dysfunction at scale? This isn't just an argument about governmental incompetence; rather, it's evidence of challenges inherent in large-scale organization, something humanity hasn't evolutionarily mastered yet. Our collective learning curve remains steep, but getting there is essential.
Abandoning federal government at the scale many propose (and this administration is now working swiftly towards) would lead to chaos. Again, the grand human experiment of coexistence at current scales demands strong, compassionate structures to guide us. History repeatedly demonstrates that successful governance isn't about perfect, flawless systems; it's about resilient structures capable of growth, repair, and adaptation. That should be our aim. Not perfection.
Dismantling Government Means Dismantling Ourselves—and Our Democracy
So yes, our government has dysfunctions. But the intensity of recent attacks, particularly under the Trump administration and DOGE decimation, exacerbates our collective problems rather than solving them. While frustrations with government toxicity are understandable, dismantling federal structures indiscriminately harms countless millions of our fellow citizens—not to mention the unsung heroes who quietly keep society’s essential services running. By dismantling government, we dismantle ourselves.
The honest path is to confront our shortcomings together and shape better, more compassionate systems. But honest confrontation means naming specific failures, not just accepting messiness. Let’s stand up to the underlying corruption of corporate control and bad actors misusing power. We can’t stand by, too often ignoring what’s happening even while understandably juggling our hyper-busy lives. We must stand up for justice, righteousness and the very pillars of democracy, at every possible turn—taking care of each other collectively as we would our own families.
In the 1980s, we took a sharp right turn from which we’ve never recovered. When we began to dismantle the social safety net, we left far too many without a lifeline. We’ve now allowed corporations to be considered persons, enabling them to railroad key pillars of democracy and drive us further toward a cliff. The rich became exponentially richer while the rest of us fell further behind, rapidly widening a gap that now threatens the very fabric of our society. People feel squeezed, desperate even. That breeds trouble—and we’re seeing it all around us.
Democracy itself could be slipping through our fingers right now. It’s been decades in the making, but recent years have quickened the pace to a level that cannot be ignored.
For those who hold disdain for government: what does simply wishing it away lead to? Allowing the few dozen billionaires who control most of our wealth to fully take the reins, perhaps alongside a authoritarian strongman who pretends at democracy? We must look more deeply at what’s before us and face it head-on, refusing to rely on those who lie and manipulate to maintain their hold on power. This holds true for both sides of the aisle as well as our mainstream, corporate-controlled media. We must think critically about the challenges before us and engage—not simply cede our power away. If government is us, then our task is to steward it: curb corruption, protect fair elections, invest in the safety net, and restore a culture of service.
Let’s approach government—and ourselves—with greater wisdom and compassion, honoring and working hard to maintain the necessary structures we must uphold to function together healthily. Government doesn’t have to be a bad word or negative concept. We can wholeheartedly claim it as a reflection of us and, from that perspective, really dig into creating something we can all be proud of.
Matthew Albracht is the former Executive Director and a Board Member of The Peace Alliance (www.peacealliance.org), a U.S. based NGO which advocates for domestic and international peacebuilding priorities. His writings have appeared on CNN, Salon, HuffPost and other outlets.
His Substack writings explore how we heal—from the inside out and the bottom up—personally, politically, and culturally—with a particular focus on the intersections between them all. Weaving together politics, psychology, and personal growth, grounded in systems thinking and trauma-awareness.