Was talking with my wife this morning about an old film on the JFK assassination we watched last night and of course the subject of the government came up. I don't have a theory on what happened or who was behind it but I can tell you one thing. The government was not interested in the public knowing the truth. What they were interested in was the public believing their story. The State can be called many things. A false god, an oppressor, the holder of the monopoly on violence but my lovely wife came up with one I hadn't heard before. It is also a narcissist. It must be the center of your life. It must be believed. It seeks only to continue to maintain control. Its goal is for you to believe in it. For you to believe it is necessary. For you to believe it is all powerful. If you don't trust it. If you don't believe in it. There is something wrong with you. You are the problem. You are the extremist. You are the crazy person. She went on to say that when the state starts to lose control it has to show its true colors. It begins to lash out. When people stop believing it panics. This is true of narcissists. I've never heard this perspective on the state. Its a good frame to use.
In democracies or relatively free nations the State depends on manipulation. When you look at more totalitarian states you are witnessing a State that is closer to failure. They have given up on manipulation and are forced to show their true colors. They are forced to use violence instead of just the threat of violence.
Often people confuse governance with the State. Governance can be good but it needs to be voluntary. Governance is good but it should not hold a monopoly. Governance is good but it should not have a separate set of morals and rules that allow it to commit acts an individual cannot do. The State is a controlling narcissist that will kill you if you push it far enough. The question is, what do you do with this knowledge.
I reject this narcissist. I reject this false god that would put itself in the place of the true God. I reject the framing created by the State.