Gil223
Regular Member
The only reason some wrongs will be perpetuated is, as Edmund Burke said, "All that is required for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing." (One of several slightly differing quotes attributed to Burke on that subject - the message remains the same even though the wording may vary a bit) This raises the question that if good men do something, what kind and how much of "something" is appropriate?Of course not, and some wrongs will simply never be corrected.
If that "something" is too drastic it will either become violent because of the participation of "organized" radical groups (street gangs, criminal organizations, militia, assorted anarchist groups, those who would be "king", etc.), or it will be made violent by the directed intervention of our own military forces when the government tires of peaceful disturbances - which historically grow less peaceful over time (Google "Bonus Army", if you doubt the government's willingness to do so).Maybe something drastic but not violent. Because lets take a hypothetical and say we have a successful revolution and overthrow the government, now what?
Agreed. See above re: "fringe groups"All the "freedom fighters" will now be looking to take control for themselves, we have few true statesmen like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson et al that I think any violent uprising will be warped by fringe groups who will want to take total power and start their own oligarchy once the current system is out of the way. simply speaking, we need to work with the constitution and system we have, violence is not the answer except as a very last resort, and in modern society, I don't see violent uprisings ever working the way our founding did.
If our government was in the process of "selling out" our sovereignty and freedoms, such an action would be significantly more than a "light or transient" cause.Even the declaration of independence says " Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes"
Violence begets violence, and 'round and 'round we go (Google "Hatfields and McCoys", or search Prohibition Gang Wars). Most Americans prefer to live in peace, but you will find - anywhere in the world - those who seem to live for an opportunity to commit acts of violence against their fellow human beings. As I see it, the problem(s) with a violent revolution within the ConUS is manifold:I really don't believe violence is the way to go, nor do I think an armed revolt will be nessecary, there are always those who will talk a big talk, but I'm a peaceful person at heart.
1. It would be absolutely chaotic. There would be multiple and conflicting organized group agendas within the populace, and countless individuals with only one agenda - survival - for themselves and their family (and possibly a close circle of trusted friends).
2. The casualty count would be tremendous, and those least prepared for an emergency would be the first to go.
3. Any large-scale internal disruption within the ConUS, would be seen by those international forces which we do not consider to be friends, as an opportunity. Acting upon that opportunity could take one of at least two diametrically opposed positions - "wait and see" or "strike while the iron is hot". The "wait and see" approach would be to watch while we decimate the population ourselves. And (of course) the "hot iron" approach would be to join in the fray while we are no longer united as a nation, and gleefully helping us to destroy ourselves. If I were making the call, it would be for the "wait and see" approach. It is more economical for the outsiders in terms of weapons, munitions, transportation costs and casualties.
Resolving political problems through peaceful means is always the best way. However, if/when the Constitutional system that supports those peaceful means becomes unresponsive to the desires of the people, "all bets are off". These are just my thoughts, and certainly subject to disagreement (after all, I have been declared the resident forum lunatic by those who believe themselves to be omniscient ). Pax...
P.S. Along these lines, here's something for the Libertarians (and the like-minded) among us -
(That statement even made me smile)[FONT="]As Libertarian writer Claire Wolfe has stated, "America is at that awkward stage: It's too late to work within the system, and too early to shoot the bastards."[/FONT]
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