Why can't we all just live and let live?

Take the government out of the equation and you wouldn't have a choice, you'd be forced to live and let live. Imagine a world where the government didn't even have the power to tell us who we could marry, what we could smoke, how much to give to "charity", what we can say on tv, or what tools we can own. Most people are scared to death of that much freedom, however. They're certain that if left to our own devices we'd all be degenerate pedophiles addicted to drugs with 19 children we can't feed or provide health care for when they shoot themselves with all our guns. If they're republican they're convinced that deep down all people are evil. If they're democrats they're convinced that deep down we're all stupid. And stupid, evil people need to be watched. They need rules. Otherwise our civilization will collapse, and the heathens will dance around the smoldering corpse of our nation.