It's because government power has creeped to a degree where it's no longer feasible to inflict any kind of punishment, so accountability is impossible. We basi

It's because government power has creeped to a degree where it's no longer feasible to inflict any kind of punishment, so accountability is impossible. We basically have the options of complaining on the internet, complaining in person at a protest, or full on violent revolt. They've removed all the options to revolt in a way that harms the government without you needing to be ready to die for the cause. Something like 10% of people fought in the Revolutionary War. I couldn't find easy stats on what % of the population participated in pro-Civil Rights Movement protests, but I'm curious if anyone has them. Both BLM and antivaxxers seem to have enough popular support that the government should be having difficulty controlling them. They don't seem to be having that difficulty, though. BLM is still around, but the change has been fairly slight. The government was able to largely ignore it. The antivaxxers remain to be seen, but I suspect all the restrictions will be effective in enforcing compliance. Citizens no longer have a way to protest that the government really needs to care about. You can't refuse to pay taxes. They'll just seize your accounts. And you can't just use cash, because I can't pay a lot of my bills in cash. You can't refuse to comply, because they'll just cut your legs out from under you. No more job, no more driver's license, no more traveling, etc, etc. I certainly wouldn't try the Boston Tea Party today. You'd be in jail before you could even tell anyone what you'd done. I don't know what the solution is, but I don't think the government derives its power from the will of the people anymore. At some point, it very much feels like that flipped, and the people derive their power from the will of the government.