The government squares off in one corner while the people square off in the other. The bell rings. The sparing begins. Who will win? In this scenario, neither will win. The concept of government vs. the people is flawed from the beginning. That's where we all get in trouble.
First, the government is not a person, place or thing. It is an entity set up by the people for the people. Its purpose is to provide order for a society of unique individuals. When it becomes more than that and moves into something that controls people, then it has become too big and out-lived its usefulness.
Thus we come to the point where people consider the government as an entity to contend with. Government, in the US at least, has moved from a "by the people, for the people" tool to a method of control. Through overuse, corruption and mismanagement, it has become something to fear instead of something to bring security. It has overstepped its bounds, and we have allowed it.
We must first realize that the government cannot go beyond what we allow. Good citizens use their voice and their vote to make wise decisions in the persons they elect to run their government. They seek knowledge and wisdom in deciding who to entrust with the job of running the government. They speak up loudly when those elected officials do wrong and use that voice to let officials know their conduct will not be tolerated.
You see, when it comes to government vs. the people, we have all the power. The government cannot usurp that power unless the people lay it down. We lay down our power when we don't vote; we lay down our power when we look the other way at corruption; we lay down that power when we don't keep up with the issues and do our research; we lay down that power when we expect the government to do what it was never intended to do: take care of us. Our apathy and entitlement mentality has given the power to the government, and only we, the people can take that power back.
Anything worth having is not free. It cost somebody somewhere, and cost them dearly. Our freedom was paid for by the blood of countless individuals who gladly died to preserve it. Keeping our freedom will cost us too. We must set aside our apathy and entitlement mentality. We must monitor our government and seek to have everything open and above board where we can see it. After all, it belongs to us and if we do not watch, it will, in the name of "taking care of everyone" take away every freedom we have. What was set up to be our servant will become our master, and everyone will lose.
You see, government was never meant to take over the responsibilities of ordinary people. When it begins to do this, when we begin to see wide-spread corruption and misuse of power, we are looking at a future implosion of the entire society, taking down the government and the people. Our founders, in their wisdom, understood this and set limits on the power of any one branch of government. They put safe-guards in place in an attempt to rein in the propensity for government to grow too large and for power to corrupt. If we want to see the people win the fight, then we the people must seek to clean up the government and push it back into its proper boundaries. If we do not do this, and soon, nobody will win.