Samuel Was An Optimist

This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day.
-- 1 Samuel 8:11–18

Our new rulers send our sons and daughters to the front. They content themselves not with a tenth of our incomes, or even the feudal liege lord's one-third, but currently confiscate and squander over one-half of what we earn and say it's not enough.

Worst of all, the Lord does not answer our cries for relief because we do not make them. The right consider these oppressions patriotic (warfare) while the left deem them compassionate (welfare).

Thus do we trade away our birthright: Esau, at least, got some lentils out of the deal!