[ams6110]

> Conversations in the US in particular always get conducted as if government had to be bad...

Yes, that is generally the classical conservative point of view (as distinct from the current Republican party, which has been imploding for a while now).

This point of view holds that government should be small and basically its responsibilities are common defense, protecting and defending individual rights, and bringing bad actors to justice.

> We must have a functioning government! We must stop working around that.

Beyond the above definition, there can be no "functioning" government, because the more power given to government the more corrupt and self-serving it becomes. This is due to inherent imperfection in human nature and can't be avoided.