The idea that a large population could work together minus a central governance is hard for me to wrap my brain around.

It does take a lot of thought, but I think it's possible. The book For a New Liberty was very helpful to me personally for thinking about this. I've gone into some more thoughts here as well. I think a big part of the solution is DAC technology. That's why I joined eosDAC: https://eosdac.io/

But lets look at the current America system.

The American system is another flavor of the same problem: a system of control backed by violent force.

I think we can do better.

I agree, many people do not want to be free. They fear freedom and they don't want to take on personal responsibility. I also think the actual state of existence is being "100% responsible for every outcome in life." Everything else is an illusion and a lie, especially that the government will take care of you. People are harmed by lies and I'd rather help them live in the truth.