I guess it can mean different things to different people. To a conservative, a strong past followed up by a bright fascist future only held up by corrupt liberals, while to liberals a march toward a welcoming socialist utopia only held up by backwards thinking conservatives.

Truth lies in the middle I am afraid, but anyway I feel like I get some of what you mean even if I inject my own lines of thinking into that as well (that both sides are naive and led around by the nose by the wealthy who purchase politicians who promise much and then deliver next to nothing or even worse sometimes).

Personally I think that we need to make life happen locally regardless of what they do, but I understand if someone else thinks otherwise. Although in your case that's kinda what your said maybe, except I don't care if the tax collection system gets dismantled or not, I just think that the former is true regardless.