I Should Have Run Away From Home

 However, I was six at the time and there was no way I could have known that. I might even have done it anyway except I got bamboozled by the [permanent record] scam. Again, I don't fault myself for this, as I was eight. Hopefully nobody expects an eight year old to be able to overpower an entire empire on their lonesome. Of course, Revenge is Sour: the condition of being able to know to run away from home is to have parents that you don't need to run away from. 

 When I was sent to school, I could have simply refused to do the work. If they tried to yell at me, I could have simply got up and left the classroom. If they tried to detain me I could have simply refused to attend. Mindlessly got on the bus and left on it. When they suspended me, if my parents whined about it, I could have run away from home.

 Running away from home would have absolutely been better than attending school. Having no diploma would absolutely have been superior to attending school.

 The thing is, everything about Despotism is like this. They prevent themselves from enforcing their own tyranny. The teachers are forbidden from using corporal punishment, including physically laying a hand on the child, meaning the child can decline to be schooled at any time. Just say no and leave.
 Short of jailing the child, literally chaining them down, the child's consent is indisputably necessary. 

 "But but foster blah blah." Yeah, and they try to send me to school, then I run away from home again. Maybe I discuss it beforehand: "Hey, I'm going to get myself suspended. How will you react?" "Okay then, I guess I'll save everyone the trouble and run now. Bye."
 Revenge is Sour again: the condition of the State being able to force school attendance is that they don't want to force school attendance. Only weak States need or even desire Prussian school.

 American voters are not six years old. 

 Edge cases aside, you can plain decline to be tyrannized. Moreover, if everyone declines to be tyrannized, they stop being able to even attempt it. What happens if every student refuses to do the homework? Will they suspend the whole class, or will they blame the teacher? What if every student refuses to attend school? Recess all day every day? The institution can't maintain funding. What if every worker refuses to take the vaccine? Are they going to fire everyone, lol? 

 It really does depend on the consent of the governed. 

 Socrates was right: evil is merely ignorance. What he failed to notice is that this means ignorance is evil. Stupidity is a crime. America is a criminal country because it's full of idiots. This makes everything non-profane harder and more expensive than it needs to be. I shouldn't have to run away from home to get away from school.

 However, security is cheap. At the end of the day, I can indeed run away from home. I can eat at the soup kitchen. If your whole society is stupid, although this does raise your security expenses, you can afford it. Secure yourself against stupidity. Secure yourself against despotic tyranny.You can just not.