There’s that famous psychological study in which students were told to inflict electrical pain on other students. Unbeknownst to the students, the “victim” didn’t actually get shocks. Most students continued to follow instructions to increase pain.

This works on victims, too, who believe authority despite evidence that the authority is wicked. One of the barriers I have to increasing gov authority into individual lives is the resultant expanding docile response to governmental injustice. If we let gov get a little power it will use it all to the limit. Then tell you to give up some more personal responsibility for the promise of gov security.

It usually works. Throughout human history, all governments either gain power through violent oppression or eventually devolve to it.