“You put your trust in the state because it filters out complexities of life you either cannot manage on your own or see no need to.”

I don’t know who this “you” is supposed to be. Perhaps Jason Smathers is using “you” to mean “me.” But if so, he really ought to speak for himself. I certainly do not put my trust in the State and I find that the government and its endless reams of arbitrary laws make my life much more complicated. I’d really like to know, for example, what in the world the IRS is doing to filter complexity out of my life.

“Why do people obey unjust laws? Because — for the majority, in most cases — it’d be a whole lot more problematic and chaotic without the system there. I may recognize that a war we’re involved in is unjust, but I don’t attempt to overthrow the government because the state simplifies my life in ways that more directly affect me.”

Well. I, for one, am certain that if I were an Iraqi child, I would be happy to die, in order that Jason Smathers might live a simpler life.