That sounds like you not only didn’t block JS, you also didn’t block ads. Which is a very different argument. I only block 3rd-party JS by default (and that already requires a lot of whitelisting for almost every site that has any interaction) and I don’t have those issues because I also block ads.

If you are heavy user of Google's services, Twitter and Facebook as well as many big news outlets and heavy-duty commercial sites then you're the 'JavaScript' type and stopping scripts is definitely not for you!

If you are like me and don't have any Facebook, Twitter or Google accounts and deliberately avoid large commercial sites like, say, Microsoft then you can happily switch off JavaScript and experience the 'better' web.

You know the type of person you are, so with this fact in mind there's no point me proselytizing the case for disabling JavaScript.

It's not compulsory, especially governments. I never deal with government on the web at a personal level. If they expect me to fill in forms I simply say that I do not have the web and would they please send me a paper copy - which they're obliged to do at law - same goes for the census.

If the government expects me to do business with it on the internet then it will have to legislate to make it compulsory AND then provide me with the necessary dedicated hardware for said purpose.

Why would I act this way? Well, for quite some years I was the IT manager for a government department and I know how they work (or I should say don't work).

BTW, as IT manager I never used email within the department (perfunctorily emails sent to my office were received by secretarial staff). If the CEO wanted to send me an important memorandum then he had to have it typed up on paper and personally sign it (and I would reciprocate the same). When in government you quickly realize that atoms on paper and especially a written signature is real guaranteed worth - unlike ephemeral emails that can vanish without trace.

I'm forever amazed at the trust the average person has in these vulnerability-ridden flaky systems.

I, unfortunately, use some of these services and similar ones, too, and it takes a few seconds to enable JS on them, and then the sites will work indefinitely afterwards.

I hear you, but I wonder if you are being honest with yourself when you use the word need.

At this point, I view Google and Facebook as the equivalent of loan sharks. A loan shark does provide a service, but most people shouldn't use one.

Seems like clear case of "crossing the river to collect water" (as the Swedish saying says)? This is what I use uBlock Origin (with the right blocklists) for and it happens automagically. I did use uMatrix for quite a awhile, but eventually ended up ditching it because uBlock Origin worked so well.