I agree with Rastus, without 2A the rest of the constitution is toilet paper. So I reiterate what I said before, either we do what we can with what we got or we get ready to start killing people (We ARE the ones with the guns)
Which would you prefer? Maybe we can get some interior decorateing tips from Osama Bin Laden, He's been living in a hole in the ground long enough to have some ideas.Same with Saddam Hussien... Oh yeah, He's DEAD.
I'm a sarcastic smart azz, but while you sit indoors with a beverage and your computer, make no mistake, this is no joke. Every veteran out there will tell you the same 2 things, 1) It ain't always the other guy that gets killed and 2) getting killed is not the worst that can happen to you.
Personally I'd rather spend 20 years working with the ballot box and the courts than to spend the same length of time , maybe longer wrecking the countryside and causing animosity that will take generations to mend. If you want examlples of how that can go look at Veit nam, they fought the french, the Japanese , the french again,then us. They got what they wanted, but it cost them about 75 years and 1/3 of their population.
Look at the Confederacy, they lost a huge proportion of their men, it was so bad that if the war had continued another year they would have been drafting SLAVES. Their entire economic system was DESTROYED, They gave the entire country side and they still LOST. ( All you southerners out there relax, you did get new clean cities out of it, compare Boston and Charlotte.)
Unless you WANT to turn America into another Yuogoslavia, you must find a way to make the ballot box and courts work for you.
Sometimes I need a bit of time to think about things...but suffice to say I don't agree in total with the quote above while at the same time Tom made relevant and salient points that cannot be avoided and Tom exhibits obvious wisdom. For myself, I contemplate some apples to oranges comparisons: 1) Viet Nam was between a people (each manipulated, no doubt), but I think the point here is that the outsiders lost it in the end. There is no comparison to the US here with an armed citizen uprising within the US...unless of course Mexico, China, Venuezuela or someone else sends in troops. 2) Confederacy: Two distinct political systems (nations) representing two different countries at war..again not a comparison to a general uprising. 3) Yugoslavia..getting closer, and consider, are we closer every day as we lose our national identity in what would be considered an invasion by most countries. So, consider is a conflict inevitable, if so is it better for a conflict to occur sooner or later?
Now contrast the statements above to our national history; forefathers (and mothers and children) that died and risked it all to remain free. Life, family and property risked and lost but to be free. Are we convicted by our principles or just of a strong opinion? Are we willing to lose our possessions to be free, or do we prefer our comforts over our freedom? Be certain of this, our comforts are the highest standard in the world and under attack by the envious, the UN, environmental extremists and many politicians...there is no Bill of Rights to have electric heat or a nice car.
So each here must search themselves to know who they are. Are you who are reading this a person of strong opinion or a man or woman of conviction? If for those of us who claim conviction, we are who we claim we are, then we must sacrifice. But do you, if you claim to be a person of conviction, sacrifice even the time to write to your U.S. Congressional delegates or give to the NRA or GOA in lieu of a single restaurant outing? Will you speak out when given the opportunity or do you strive to get along?
For those who claim conviction, are you willing to yield a life of comfort to avoid a yoke? Yes, I acknowledge it's not the other guy who dies all of the time, but the truth is many who claim to be patriots will not send in a membership to any 2nd Ammendment support organization because of some lame excuse that whoever that organization is....is a sellout. Realistically, the sellout is the attitude, not the organization because as a gun owner if you have convinced yourself your are justified to not to write a letter or send in $10...I say that is, at best, only strongly opinionated. Stongly opinionated people don't need to read any futher, you won't get it.
I have a lot to lose. I'm a professional engineer with a Master's Degree that's been blessed with a great looking wife, great children, a good job, a full gun safe, bass boat, etc. Though I have no military service, I have offered up my life. First by staying with an offshore platform that had a blowout and a certainty of explosion to shut off an out-of-control well with the certainty that it would blow up before I finished someone else's job. Second, I got a chance to offer my life for one of my children's lives...no hesitation there...we both made it out alive. I know who I am, be certain of who you are.
If I have to die or live in a hole to avoid tyranny or a boot on my throat, so be it.