The thing I try to keep in mind is that 'the government' is the emergent behavior of millions of self-interested people of varying abilities, from people who just want a job for life to people who want to rule the world. There's a framework in place, and they all live within it. Some work to change the framework, but as with ant colonies, it's not as if all of the ants are designing and architecting the colony. Uncle Milton is a blind watchmaker.

That doesn't mean bad things won't happen, just that you have people "trying to do their jobs" who aren't thinking about fundamental liberties. Get a few million of these ants together and they end up in all aspects of your life, much like real ants. In most cases, the best you can hope for is benign mediocrity.

When counted as individuals, it's the infinitesimal minority that reach to greatness or descend to horror.