APPLAUSE!
This entire thread is a display of exactly why I - as one of those "stupid wet-behind-the-ears twenty-somethings" - have given up (mostly) on the Republican Party. (In actuality, I am unaffiliated with any political party - I think that the Founders were on to something when they warned their fellow Americans against the dangers of political factions.)
Too many Republicans whine and bitch about how government fails when it comes to things like student loans, environmental regulations, health care, retirement annuities, airport security, etc.
And, for the most part, they are correct.
The problem is that those same Republicans make a wide U-turn and argue that government must act when it comes to marriage, abortion, education, overseas terrorism, drugs, etc.
To be honest, it took me a lot of introspection, thought, and soul-searching to say what I'm about to say:
It's not the Federal government that's the problem here (for the most part).
It's Americans themselves.
The national cluster f- (pardon my language) that the US is in today is squarely the fault of...well, us, as a nation.
There's a saying that "the government you get is the government you vote for." Or that the government directly reflects the electorate.
Well, it's true.
The vast majority of Americans, irrespective of political stripes, have collectively agreed on one thing for over one hundred years, maybe longer: if there's a problem, government should do something to solve it.
It's taken me a while to realize that that one belief in particular *IS* the problem with the US today.
And it's a problem that government can't solve. It's a problem that Americans must solve for themselves, preferably before this country falls by its own sword - a sword named "democracy."
Ronald Reagan once said, "The most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" And he was right. Too bad most Americans don't sincerely believe those words.