05-20-2018, 12:00 AM
The proper way to start a debate like this, (according to my own personal outlined thinking method which is superior to yours because you don't have one. 
), is to define the terms in the question. The question again is "Does the government have our best interests at heart?" The four terms therein are "The government", "our", "best interests" and "at heart".
The government - An hierarchical organization with multiple branches that purports the right to create, interpret, and enforce rules, (variously called laws, statutes, ordinances, etc.), which govern those who reside on the portion of the earth over which it claims governance. This purported right is enforced by military might.
In order to keep the debate a bit simpler, I suggest limiting our question to does one, (or perhaps a few), particular government/s have our best interests at heart; rather than do ALL governments have our best interests at heart.
Our - The people that the government claims the right to govern.
Best interests - This is probably the trickiest part of the question. "Best" is a matter of opinion, so to resolve the original debate we must first answer the question "Whose opinion decides what's in our best interest?". As a synonym for best interests I suggest "works the upmost in our favor".
At heart - I believe in this question at heart should be interpreted as meaning more than just "is the government doing things that are in our best interests"... but also "is the government doing those things BECAUSE they're in our best interests"
), is to define the terms in the question. The question again is "Does the government have our best interests at heart?" The four terms therein are "The government", "our", "best interests" and "at heart". The government - An hierarchical organization with multiple branches that purports the right to create, interpret, and enforce rules, (variously called laws, statutes, ordinances, etc.), which govern those who reside on the portion of the earth over which it claims governance. This purported right is enforced by military might.
In order to keep the debate a bit simpler, I suggest limiting our question to does one, (or perhaps a few), particular government/s have our best interests at heart; rather than do ALL governments have our best interests at heart.
Our - The people that the government claims the right to govern.
Best interests - This is probably the trickiest part of the question. "Best" is a matter of opinion, so to resolve the original debate we must first answer the question "Whose opinion decides what's in our best interest?". As a synonym for best interests I suggest "works the upmost in our favor".
At heart - I believe in this question at heart should be interpreted as meaning more than just "is the government doing things that are in our best interests"... but also "is the government doing those things BECAUSE they're in our best interests"