Government = Fear?

Should we fear our government? I would quickly fire off the answer no, but oddly enough fear can be good. In society some sort of fear of government is definitely necessary. There has to be a mixture of fear and respect in order for everything to function accordingly. For example in a society with no respect or fear of the government people well knowingly commit crimes without fear or worry of the consequences. Machiavelli said, “It is better to be feared than loved.” which holds true in terms of government. If the government officials allow constituents to make all the policies they will be loved but not feared, so when it comes time for them to put their fist down and be taking serious constituents pay no attention. I think that there is proof that fear of the government works thinking in terms of presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, with all his policies (The Big Stick), he was more successful than a president like James Buchanan, one who people didn’t fear or remember. Although not everyone would agree on Theodore Roosevelt’s ways of doing things, and it’s arguable whether he was a successful president, but he was a president who established fear in not only Americans, but also other countries. So to answer to question should we fear our government, is quite simply yes we should fear our government if we want a structured and stable society.