One of the clearest signs that government is a ridiculous religious thing is the severity of the punishments governments impose for not buying their lies. For not having the "proper" respect for the buffoonish institution and all its nonsense.
Usually, historically, that punishment has explicitly been death.
Sometimes, these days, they can officially only get away with lengthy imprisonment, which is still ridiculously harsh for the actual acts committed-- if any. If they can manage it, and they often do, they still make sure the prisoner dies in their custody one way or another.
Instead of making me take government more seriously, this overreaction shows the emperor has no clothes. He's naked, scabby, and an embarrassment to those he imagines are beneath him.
That severity of punishment doesn't even make sense. Not to anyone not brainwashed, anyway. I mean, I get it from government's warped, narrow, perspective, but that perspective is what exposes the lie.
If government were worthy of respect, they wouldn't need to overreact to those who show a lack of respect. They would be strong enough to laugh it off and show that any criticism is misguided. But they do overreact, which works against them and their dishonest narrative.
Government takes itself so seriously that it completely undermines any respect I might have dredged up from the depths once upon a time. Yes, government can kill, but so can a papercut or a worm. I don't respect something just because it can kill me. I try to avoid it. And I hate those who try to harm me by using such things against me.
Speaking of worms, it seems that every day I have less respect for those who treat political government as anything other than a parasitic worm. Those who act as if there's some necessity to it, and that it could be good if only it ... well, did something that it is never going to do or stopped doing things it's never going to stop doing.