2nd Amendment
There is that word again: "never". So the US is an eternal entity? For all time this nation will endure in a peaceful form? No government will ever go so far, in the next million years, to push the citizenry over the edge?
The fact is it WILL happen. Sooner or later, for one reason or another. It may well not even be any reason we currently see as important. But sooner or later something will be too much. Some admin will go too far. That or we will defy all the lessons and evidence of history.
I must agree. I grew up hearing my father (now about 70) telling me that as a teenager in the 1950's he was a chest-thumping proud American, and told his immigrant father that the USA was forever. My grandfather merely smiled and said, "I grew up in Russia. The Czar was forever - when I was a kid, they had the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, and the power of the Czar was greater than ever. 5 years later they were gone from power, 1 year after that Nicholas and his whole family were murdered. Also, 2 of the empires fighting Russia were also destroyed, Germany and Austria-Hungary. They, too, were "forever." Well, son of mine, no country and no government is forever, no matter how powerful it appears."
I can't find too much fault there. Rome was "forever," too. They were a vastly powerful republic, just like us, and then the temptations of power for a few key people led to the destruction of the republic. After that, they lasted for a few hundred years, but the seeds for destruction were laid when Caesar crossed the Rubicon.
We are no different, since we are just as human as they were, and human nature hasn't changed one iota in tens of thousands of years. We merely live in a different time with different technology. Our republic is in the process of being destroyed from within, just like Rome's was, except that ours is being destroyed slowly and with the wholehearted approval of a large (and historically ignorant) segment of the population. Some day it is likely that some leader will grow impatient (we humans have limited lifespans, after all) and make a grab for near-total power. The first steps will be a confiscation of weapons from the general populace under some crime- or terror-fighting pretext, and it will be done either simultaneously or followed shortly thereafter by stringent controls on the press, media and internet (to the extent possible). At that point, people - including LEOs and those in the military, will have a very hard choice to make - career vs. principles (that is to say, it will be a hard choice for those that actually
have principles, which probably eliminated the upper ranks of most urban police forces and some fair number of military officers).
Regarding the original and subsequent posts, I believe that many LEOs and military will be on the side of the Constitution, and that this will be the biggest news of all. Many that don't give a damn will gladly sell military or para-military equipment, plus ammo, to civilians for wads of the green stuff, gold, etc. As to civilian resistance, one factor that hasn't been mentioned is where the vast legions of former military will be on this issue. I firmly believe that most of them will be on the side of the people and the constitution. I also think that the politicians are particularly worried about what former members of various elite units will do - I don't know about you folks, but I wouldn't want to have a former Green Beret, Navy Seal, Ranger, sniper, etc. hunting me, let alone several of them working together. These guys could, probably without too terribly much trouble, obtain whatever weapons, supplies and communications gear that they desired, simply by raiding small convoys or out-of-the-way bases. The Green Berets, in particular, are trained in how to train insurgents and in how to infiltrate closely guarded facilities. This is a real wildcard.
I also have to wonder where the coastal cities are going to get their food and fuel, since I can't think of a good reason why the vast numbers of truck drivers currently bringing them these critical commodities will want to be on the road during a very bad period of unrest. Look at the effect on commerce of 2 moronic murderers in the DC area - despite thousands of LEOs and substantial federal involvement, the panic caused by these relatively unskilled, unintelligent guys without any coherent plan caused many thousands to stay off the roads. Those that were on the roads were subjected to massive delays due to checkpoints. What would 65,000, or even 6,500, well-equipped, highly motivated and fairly well trained people be able to do across the country? Commerce would be at a virtual standstill, which would really be a good thing - because that would force an end to the situation fairly soon.
As is the case with all sane people, I sincerely hope that this kind of a situation NEVER comes about, and that threads like this are looked back at as huge wastes of time and energy. However, trends are not good in this country, and with the burning human desire for more power, I'm not optimistic in the long run. We may defeat Kerry now, but what if Hillary gets in and makes Chuck Schumer the AG? How long do you believe that our gun rights will remain even partially intact? If not the Hillary-Schumer team, then it will be someone else in 4, 8, 12 20 or 50 years who will make the attempt.
), well if you are going to advocate anything that evil, you are never going to have the popular support you need, and the general population is going to be happy to see you all get burnt up in your compound.
