Interesting, as having lived through the era and having served in combat and having come home to be spit upon, I guess my recolections of the time are a bit different. I guess I also have a bit of a different take on "the government". I always assumed "the government" was a representative form of government "of, for, and by the people". Our representatives, I thought, were elected by the "people". And of course those same representatives have forever stuck their finger in the air to see which way the wind of opinion was flowing.
Again, my reccolections, may be a bit skewed by my personal experiences. Thanks for sharing yours.