chapotraphouse

Most of us have the distinct pleasure of going throughout our lives bereft of the physical presence of those who rule over us.

a banger of an opening line. and to the point of thesis, i agree 1000%. i had absolutely garbage politics into my late 20s. very much a "taxes are theft" lolbertarian idiot.

through happenstance, i began working directly for a guy born into the 0.01% of the US. he was in his 40s. within two days, as my mind began to grasp the power and pointless waste this guy deployed with all the discretion of a drunk toddler. i remember the clear thought that would have been abhorrent to me a day earlier, "the government needs to come and take all of this guy's money and land" because no state, no matter how corrupt and venal, would waste money like this asshole.

i became far more open minded to all leftist thought from that purely emotional experience.