Very insightful, thank you Joyce! Very much appreciate that you've documented your journey. I've a feeling there are more stories, and perhaps more to these stories, for you to share. Years back, when you'd used the word "government", I'd argued a preference for the word "state" (as in l'état). I do the same here, after reading your post.
You are right that it is the state that is the enemy. There is a possibility of competing governments, or even government by contract, but I didn't see that distinction between state and government until you pointed it out. I think most people still see the two words as synonymous, which is why I use "government" to avoid confusion with the more narrow definition of "state" as a subdivision of nation.
Yes, the word "state" has more than one meaning, and that is a valid reason for avoiding it. True government will be through voluntary, free market transactions, not through any coercive state mechanism.