Again, I understand civility and operate in it most of the time.
However, I am not so naive as to think there is no limit to civility. And neither do I believe in complete civility until the time comes to use rifles.
Vandalzing ships and throwing their cargo of tea into the harbor was not very civil.
Neither was hanging various British officials in effigy.
Neither was breaking the windows and vandalizing the offices of corrupt government officials or tarring and
feathering those who "disagreed" with you. And all were done in the founding of this country and all came before the time to atually use the rifles.
The "Boston Massacre" did not happen because a bunch of evil British troops fired at a group of colonists showing mass civility. And that happened five years before any actual armed combat between colonials and redcoats.
What I fundamentally disagree with is "civility" as an end itself.
What I have a problem with is civility as a means of conflict avoidance. Which is what I see civility often used as.
There comes a time for the gloves to come off.
As for having friends who fundamentally disagree with you, yes it is possible. I have some friends like that.
But the fundamental truth is that if it ever comes to "throw down" time, those very friends may be the people you have to take out first.
I don't think I'm being paranoid here. Hundreds of thousands of Americans had friends and relatives they loved, but otherwise disagreed with over the question of black slavery in 1850. Within one decade, they came to "throw down" time. Within one decade they had to work to hurt, kill and otherwise destroy those friends and relatives. That's why that conflict got the rather ironic name of the "Civil" War.
With the situation today, us being involved in a World War against Islamist terror, I can see us coming to another such precipice.
We are going to come to a place where the gloves will have to come off. We are going to come to a time when we will alll have to divide everyone we know into "friends" and "enemies."
My friends will be those committed to freedom and liberty. My enemies will be those either hate freedom, or who are willing to sacrifice it for cheap results.
hillbilly
However, I am not so naive as to think there is no limit to civility. And neither do I believe in complete civility until the time comes to use rifles.
Vandalzing ships and throwing their cargo of tea into the harbor was not very civil.
Neither was hanging various British officials in effigy.
Neither was breaking the windows and vandalizing the offices of corrupt government officials or tarring and
feathering those who "disagreed" with you. And all were done in the founding of this country and all came before the time to atually use the rifles.
The "Boston Massacre" did not happen because a bunch of evil British troops fired at a group of colonists showing mass civility. And that happened five years before any actual armed combat between colonials and redcoats.
What I fundamentally disagree with is "civility" as an end itself.
What I have a problem with is civility as a means of conflict avoidance. Which is what I see civility often used as.
There comes a time for the gloves to come off.
As for having friends who fundamentally disagree with you, yes it is possible. I have some friends like that.
But the fundamental truth is that if it ever comes to "throw down" time, those very friends may be the people you have to take out first.
I don't think I'm being paranoid here. Hundreds of thousands of Americans had friends and relatives they loved, but otherwise disagreed with over the question of black slavery in 1850. Within one decade, they came to "throw down" time. Within one decade they had to work to hurt, kill and otherwise destroy those friends and relatives. That's why that conflict got the rather ironic name of the "Civil" War.
With the situation today, us being involved in a World War against Islamist terror, I can see us coming to another such precipice.
We are going to come to a place where the gloves will have to come off. We are going to come to a time when we will alll have to divide everyone we know into "friends" and "enemies."
My friends will be those committed to freedom and liberty. My enemies will be those either hate freedom, or who are willing to sacrifice it for cheap results.
hillbilly