The author argues that “government as we know it” often acts first and seeks consent later, citing Gulf of Tonkin, FDR and Pearl Harbor, and President Trump’s Operation Epic Fury against Iran (Feb. 28, 2026) as cases where public approval was prepared or granted after the fact.

He ties that pattern to the national-security state and fiat money: leaving gold in 1933, a dollar that has lost most of its purchasing power, and U.S. debt over $40 trillion—changes he says voters never truly chose.

Drawing on Garet Garrett, Robert Higgs, and Madison’s Federalist 51, the piece says the 1787 Constitution built a coercive tax-and-army state, that most Americans now depend on it, and that taming it is harder than replacing it with voluntary, market-based order.

You might want to hire someone to paint your house, but the painters need your permission first. For most people, consent precedes action. In the world of “government as we know it,” an invaluable Robert Higgs expression, the exact opposite is often the case, especially when the action desired implies a disastrous change to American life. Ever wonder why false flags are so dear to government’s heart?

The Gulf of Tonkin lie used to escalate American intervention in Viet Nam, leading to millions of deaths at a cost of over a $1 trillion in today’s dollars, serves as a tragic example of how consent grudgingly followed government action. When consent weakened and threatened to impinge those in office, the government gradually pulled out.

President Trump’s Operation Epic Fury that began with an unprovoked attack on Iran on February 28, 2026 happened following years of demonizing the Iranian government that conditioned the public for its destruction. The public had given the go-ahead years ago—though killing over 100 Iranian schoolgirls in the attack wasn’t in the original bargain.

As Garet Garret points out in Ex America, for the United States government World War II did not begin with Pearl Harbor. The president’s peace message firmly issued for years throughout the war overseas became abruptly shattered on December 7, 1941 when months of provocation paid off, and Americans who would suffer the consequences bought FDR’s “surprise attack” story. The public consent given afterward and to this day is beyond mere approval; it is sacrosanct, the reason we’re not all speaking German and living under a hellish tyranny. WWII stands as the Good War, we’re told, unlike all the others. And it shows government can sometimes take the liberty of doing what’s best for the public.

The war provided impetus for President Truman to create the National Security State under which “national........

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