head-a-splode

I'm trying to digest your post. I'm unclear as to what you're getting at.

Many things I would find acceptable in state and local government, I abhor in a central or federal government. Much of what I'm willing to allow government to do has to do with it's relative size.

A big, over-bearing, centralized government will always fail to represent the will of it's people, even if that's what it's designed to do. I would deny it all the power and responsibility I could in favor of the more local communities who are better able to address the local needs.

America was designed to work like that, originally, with almost all of the real power, anything beyond protecting the nation and it's people from threats foreign and domestic, reserved for the local and state governments. Even it has devolved into a centralized oligarchy, while that is expressly what it's designers were against.