In short, the government is special because of its broad sweeping power to make laws that impact everyone. For example, consider the first amendment: "Congress

In short, the government is special because of its broad sweeping power to make laws that impact everyone. For example, consider the first amendment: "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech". This applies to the government but not, say, to a third grade classroom rule against using curse words. It's perfectly reasonable for a private group to ban certain kinds of speech because if you don't like it, you can go somewhere else. But much more care must be taken when you're operating in the sphere of laws and government actions. Another way to put it...the government is the only entity in society with a monopoly on the use of force. With great power there should also be a great degree of responsibility.