A perceived grandeur
versus a delusion of grandeur—
which is worst,
either way you’re a target.
The haters and traitors
are out to get you,
the former are external,
the latter internal.
It came to me in a dream—
what should I do now,
is it too late for me,
like it was for them?
By: ElRoyPoet © 2022
Let’s talk about what Republicans get wrong about guns….
“Our founding fathers, having just lived through a revolution, tried really hard to create a system of government that could avoid a revolution in the future. The Constitution of the United States of America is the result. A system that has built in a very straightforward way of allowing for everything from small tweaks (2 term limit for President) to massive social change (end slavery, give women equal rights—yes, I know the ERA didn’t pass, that’s part of my point) and the potential for a complete reboot (without the need for violence) in the form of calling for a constitutional convention.
The state in which I live has had 5 constitutions (and prior to the US, 4 versions of the Frame of Government originally written by William Penn) the most recent was 1968, a few months before I was born.
When I hear people say ‘we need a revolution’ I will often ask ‘why not address your concerns via a constitutional amendment or a new constitution?’ The reply is usually quite enlightening as to the motivations and thinking of those calling for revolution. Some people clearly relish the idea of sowing chaos and destruction, and those are the people who scare me the most.” [….]
You’re right that any armed revolution started right now would be disastrous. And, I fear, would mostly lead to fascism as the government was required to crack down on all the various dissidents.
Though I think you’re overestimating the potential ‘breakup’ of America. I don’t think it would happen like that. The division of America today isn’t like that of Yugoslavia. You don’t have black nationalists living in one state, Mexican nationalists living in another, Protestant nationalists living in one and Catholic nationalists living in another. Sure, you have racial and ethnic and religious diversity. But the reality is, that’s spread out everywhere, and our ultimate dividing lines aren’t region-based or even culture-based anymore, they’re political. ‘Left-wing’ and ‘right-wing’ are far more important classifiers to Americans than ‘Wisconsinite’ or ‘Californian’.
Cities all across America are mostly liberal or left-wing. Rural America is mostly right-wing. The divide is geographic, but it isn’t state vs. state, it’s rural-vs-urban. And neither can really survive without the other.
This means that, if it comes down to ‘A revolution,’ today, it will probably be left-wing vs. Right-wing, not California vs. Texas. And one side will have to win and will re-consolidate America. Whether that’s rural America with its guns and bread, or urban America with its wealth, technology, and factories.
Either way, I think it will lead to tyranny on a massive scale. Government surveillance, oaths of loyalty, secret police, whatever. That’s not to say left-wing and right-wing are the same. Just that no matter what, if there’s a civil war in the US in our current political climate, the government that comes out of it will have to be far more repressive than ours today.
So I’m not seeing a ‘broken up’ America, is my point. I’m seeing a united one that is fascist or totalitarian. Still not a good outcome.” Comments in Let’s talk about revolution.…
“The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.” By: Mahatma Gandhi
“Ignorance breeds fear. We fear those things we don’t understand. If we don’t put a lid on that fear and keep that fear in check, that fear in turn will breed hatred because we hate those things that frighten us. “If we don’t keep that hatred in check, that hatred in turn will breed destruction.” By: Daryl Davis
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” By: John F. Kennedy
“Though liberty is established by law, we must be vigilant, for liberty to enslave us is always present under that same liberty. Our Constitution speaks of the ‘general welfare of the people’. Under that phrase all sorts of excesses can be employed by [authoritarian] tyrants—to make us bondsmen.” By: Marcus Tullius Cicero
Final Thoughts: The First Amendment is the chief corner-stone to the Constitution, which upholds our democracy. Don’t be deceived into believing, you don’t need the First Amendment. If you willingly surrender your rights, what makes you think, the government can be trusted—to not trick you—into giving up your Second Amendment, also. Even if you resist, it will be too late, because you’ve already forfeited your First Amendment—Freedom of Speech and Assembly protections. The forfeiture of our First Amendment, whether by coercion, deceit or choice is the greatest threat to our democracy! “When you take care of your first priority, everything else will be okay” or “When you do first things—first, everything else will fall in place. However, if you do second things—first, everything else will fall apart”. Our Founders were cognizant of how subtle, government tyranny can be. We owe them a debt of gratitude, for amending the Constitution with the Bill of Rights!
In conclusion, the Second Amendment only serves as a guarantee that our First Amendment protections are defended. But don’t be deceived, when the Second Amendment was enacted, it was to serve as a deterrent against government tyranny. Back in December 1791, it was probably feasible for a militia of colonists with muskets to subvert the standing army. However in our current state, a militia of armed citizens would never be able to overthrow the government, because the armed forces possess weapons of mass destruction and control the military logistics network. So basically, if our First Amendment falls, our Second Amendment advocates won’t be able to defend themselves and as a consequence whomever orchestrates a military coup will eventually rule over the survivors.
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