I recognize this post may provoke a knee-jerk reaction in some. So as not to shock you, full disclosure: I was a political science major. After graduation, I worked on Capitol Hill -- until I left in frustration over Reagan’s policies. My sister worked for the Bureau of Land Management and was part of the team that discovered the black-footed ferret wasn’t extinct after all, much to the consternation of some ranchers who wanted its habitat to graze their cattle. My cousin (and best friend) worked in refugee resettlement. My mother was a public school teacher, a union member, and an active Democratic committee-woman. As a kid, I wasn’t allowed to play with my friends until I finished delivering campaign flyers for Hubert Humphrey and later, for George McGovern. Henry Wallace invited my grandfather to Washington to help the new FDR administration construct the New Deal. He spent the rest of his days in the foreign service. In her late 60’s, my grandmother practiced walking with her church’s minister so she could build up the strength to join Martin Luther King Jr. on his March on Washington.
In other words, I grew up steeped in civil and public service, and I have no inherent bias against the notion of government. Of course I realize that government can be wasteful, corrupt, and even cruel. And I get that the same government that delivers aid to the sick and funds Sesame Street can also start illegal wars that kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
But I also know this: We live in a cooperative society, and we need government to set the rules for that cooperation. I don’t have the time or skillset to build my own home, sew my own clothes, grow my own food, or fill my own cavities. We divide this labor, trusting specialists to do their jobs -- a teacher educates, a doctor heals, a farmer grows, an engineer designs.
Government is an integral part of this cooperative system. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) set the measurements that keep construction materials uniform, allowing us to build housing and sewage treatment plants as efficiently as possible. The FAA develops the flight regulations that ensure air travel is safe. The USDA sets food safety standards so we don’t have to inspect every carton of milk ourselves. As is the case with every sector of the economy, cooperation requires rules, standards and a shared version of truth. Governments that provide such frameworks make large-scale collaboration possible. We need government.
Why We Hate Government
Here in the U.S. it seems everyone hates the government, or is supposed to, anyway. And to be fair, there’s plenty to hate: A president who sees humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as a real estate opportunity. Trump openly siding with Putin over Ukraine. A widening wealth gap that funnels prosperity to the ultra-rich while gutting the middle class. Abject capitulation to the fossil fuel industry as we stare down the climate crises. A weird obsession with trans people.
These failures are indefensible, and the frustration they generate is justified.
But that frustration is also being weaponized. The authors of Project 2025, Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE are actively dismantling our government. Despite their claims, they don’t want government accountability, they want destruction. “Othering” is the preferred tool to justify their actions, and they’re bludgeoning us with it. Planes crashing mid air? Blame it on the FAA’s diversity programs. Ditto for the Los Angeles wildfires. Your cat is missing? Immigrants ate her. Critics of Trump are “the enemy from within” and if you’re to the left of Reagan you’re “vermin.” There is no insult too extreme to heap on anyone with the temerity to disagree with Trump.
But as I said, reform isn’t the goal -- destruction is. If DOGE can convince enough people that government itself is the problem, Elon & Co. can strip it for parts, gut federal expertise, and funnel costly essential services to the private sector. Oh, the money to be made! Already, Elon has built a $38 billion business empire with taxpayer money, but evidently it's not enough. Of course, a privatized FAA or FEMA won’t answer to citizens -- it will answer to shareholders. But let’s be clear: this hatred of government isn’t organic. It’s a manufactured tool to divert public funds to Wall Street and corporate coffers.
This onslaught against the government is hardly new. Almost since the New Deal’s inception, powerful monied interests have stoked public cynicism in a quest to dismantle the very institutions meant to protect ordinary people. Resentment toward “big government” (read: making the rich pay taxes) eroded the New Deal, and that same resentment now drives efforts to gut regulations and fire people.
Everyday we see Trump and DOGE doubling down on that cynicism, flooding discourse with outlandish claims (“USAID sends $100 million in condoms to Hamas!”) in order to feed the narrative that government is incompetent and wasteful.
At a press conference, Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that USAID had spent “$1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia’s workplaces; $70,000 for the production of a DEI musical in Ireland; $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru.” She wasn’t embarrassed to say those words. Out loud. On national TV.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries describes the Republican strategy as three-pronged: Facts don’t matter, hypocrisy should not constrain behavior, and shamelessness is a superpower. I’m not being partisan here: Trump won the election on lies, hypocrisy and utterly shameless behavior. And now his team is leveraging this strategy to win the war against our government.
But we can’t let them prevail. Losing this battle won’t end well for a world that urgently needs global cooperation to combat climate change -- and to prepare for the inevitable mass migration of people whose countries are no longer habitable.
For this reason, we urgently need to reexamine our distrust of government and dare I say? come to its defense. If we abandon the notion of government now what replaces it will be far worse. Because here’s the thing: when we reflexively reject government, we don’t eliminate power. We simply hand it over to those who will wield it for their own gain.
Government as Infrastructure of Trust
To me there’s a lot to like about government. In fact, there are so many things I like about it that I can honestly say it adds up to love. For instance, I like literacy, and the fact that governments spend a lot of resources teaching people to read. I like cancer research and vaccines. I like safe aviation and federal highways that help me see the country. I like National Parks and the rangers who work there. I appreciate those who explain how the ancient burial sites at Effigy Mounds National Monument came to be. I like accurate weather forecasts that allow us to prepare for what’s ahead, especially if it’s a climate-induced storm that’s going to clobber us. These forecasts won’t let us dodge bullets, but at least they give us the opportunity to get to safety. I like the Congressional Research Service, which I relied on when I worked on Capitol Hill. I like getting birthday cards delivered straight to my door, and I like knowing that when I drop a letter in the mailbox it will reach its destination. I like lifting seniors out of poverty with Social Security, and providing healthcare through Medicare and Medicaid. I like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created in the wake of the subprime mortgage debacle. In its short existence, this tiny bureau has returned some $21 billion to Americans who were ripped off by big banks. I really really love that.
All the stuff that I like is the stuff Trump and Elon call the “deep state.” Sounds sinister, right? One pictures shadowy operatives in underground bunkers, pulling strings. That’s their manipulation at work, using language to turn us against what is, in actuality, an infrastructure of trust.
What do I mean by infrastructure of trust? Let’s say I need to hire some electricians to rewire my old Vermont farmhouse. I don’t need to take a leap of faith that they know what they’re doing. Electricians are certified, and electrical codes exist to ensure they follow standards designed for safety, not personal improvisation. Inspectors verify their work is up to code before it becomes a fire hazard. And if, despite all that, those electricians cut corners and my house burns down, I have legal recourse. The court system isn’t just a theoretical concept, it’s a mechanism that holds people accountable, ensuring that the cost of negligence is higher than the cost of doing the job right. The very existence of these systems -- the certifications, the codes, the inspections, the courts -- shapes behavior.
We benefit from an infrastructure built specifically to buttress trust -- one that ensures cooperation, safety, and accountability on a scale no individual could manage alone. And yet, that infrastructure is exactly what Musk, Trump, and DOGE are intent on dismantling. At CPAC 2025, Elon took to the stage wielding a chainsaw to symbolize his war on bureaucracy. So macho! But what he calls bureaucracy, I call our infrastructure of trust.
And not for nothing, I freaking hate the joy he gets out of his DOGE “work.” For the thousands of federal employees suddenly (and needlessly) out of a job, for travelers terrified of flying, for those cut off from life-saving aid, Elon’s chainsaw bravado is neither bold nor cool. It’s cringy.
The Real “Deep State”
The real deep state isn’t a conspiracy of bureaucrats secretly controlling our lives through sinister DEI programs. It’s the multimillion-dollar donations and anticipatory obedience that dictate who governs and whose interests are served. Elon funneled $250 million into Trump’s campaign, and that bought him powerful access. As a result, Elon gets to decide who to fire and which agencies to defund (hint: it’s the ones that were investigating a boatload of violations and wrong-doing across his companies). And his power ensures that his gravy train -- the $8 million of taxpayer money he collects each day -- is intact.
So you see, $250 million may sound like a high price to pay for a president, but Elon's investment has paid off handsomely, delivering dividends you and I can’t fathom. Fortune reports that his companies have gained $613 billion in value since the re-election of Trump. Not bad for an initial down payment of $250 million. Let no one claim that corruption doesn’t pay.
If you want to find the real deep state, follow the money. It’s not civil servants enforcing safety standards -- it’s billionaires and corporate executives embedding themselves in government while keeping one foot in their business empires. Just last week, DOGE appointed Tom Krause as fiscal assistant secretary at the Treasury Department. His other job? CEO of Cloud Software Group, a company with millions in active federal contracts, including with the very department he now helps oversee.
This isn’t governance. It’s a hostile corporate takeover. The same administration that rails against the so-called “deep state” is actively filling the government with people whose primary loyalty is to their own bottom line. Meanwhile, regulatory agencies that exist to protect the public are being gutted, their experts replaced with corporate insiders and political operatives. The real deep state isn’t lurking in bureaucratic offices; it’s sitting in boardrooms, cashing in.
Not enough Democrats are stepping up the way they should, so it’s up to the citizens to save our government. That begins with calling BS on “efficiency.” Our infrastructure of trust -- the CDC, FDA, FEMA -- can’t be sacrificed for Elon’s balance sheet.
Fortunately, we’re seeing signs of hope that we citizens are up to the task. While many Americans remain wary of the so-called “deep state,” it’s becoming clear that they don’t see the infrastructure of trust as part of it. Republican lawmakers are facing fierce backlash at their town halls, with constituents pushing back against DOGE and the gutting of federal jobs and essential services. From Georgia to Wisconsin, voters are making it clear that dismantling the government isn’t the reform they signed up for. People don’t like chaos. They may have cheered the rhetoric of cutting bureaucracy, but now that they see the real-world consequences, they’re not having it.
It’s a shame that we even need to expend our energy this way -- that ordinary people must rise up to defend the basic functions of government. And yet, here we are. In my own rural Vermont village, people are braving the cold and snow to protest daily. Across the country, Americans are showing up, pushing back, refusing to let this happen quietly.
But the real tragedy is what this fight is costing us. Our energy, our resources, our scientific brainpower -- these should be spent saving a burning planet, not trying to prevent the burning of our government. Instead of fighting to keep air travel safe, we should be solving the emissions crisis. Instead of scrambling to protect disaster relief agencies, we should be fortifying communities against rising seas and extreme weather. Instead of defending the infrastructure of trust, we should be using it to build a more sustainable future.
We shouldn’t need to fight just to keep the lights on. But if we don’t, we risk losing the very foundations that make a functioning society possible.