The C word has now been said

Haha - not so elequent, but the point is there would never be a civil war to begin with unless the government got oppressive and out of hand.

As a people, we tend to get nervous any time one person or family has too much control. That's why we instituted Presidential term limits after FDR, and why many people have gotten nervous about the Kennedy and Bush families over the years. Just the other day I heard someone joking that this was the first time in 24 years we haven't had a Bush or a Clinton in a position of power with the federal government, and Jeb Bush has been mentioned in many circles as a potential GOP Presidential candidate...

While some of what you say is correct it is still quite an over simplification of what was going on in the colonies at that time. However that is a topic for another time. That being said I would be very interested to get a Brits side of the AWI. I am a bit of a history buff but have never had the opportunity to discuss the other side of the story. Sorry that was directed at jaydee but I forgot to add the quote.

Depends on the circumstances, but either way, I seriously doubt that the majority of this country will vote to confiscate guns....If they do, then there is little doubt in my mind that the state of Texas (where I live) and probably others as well will secede from the union...and the point would be moot.

To defend my family, home, and freedom, you bet your butt. But, you'll probably misconstrue that statement as well.

I suppose there are a lot of sheeple out there that don't agree with or understand the willingness to stand up for the freedoms you believe you have a right to...freedoms that were given to each and every citizen by the founders of this country.

People put too much trust in their govt to always do what is right for the people.

Anyway, with that, I'm going to leave this thread to those of you willing to continue beating your heads against the wall.

Not trying to start an international or civil war Just trying to understand the posts which refer to possible civil war resulting from some weapons being confiscated.

...and trying to understand the concept of being armed to fight an "evil" government (for whatever reason) which was democratically elected by the american people which is what seems to be implied by the 2nd amendment.

It can be hard to understand - you have to look at "what if" situations and not just look at the status quo.

Just to illustrate using the current government...Obama has made no secret that he intends to use executive power and Executive Orders to bypass Congress, and to ignore existing laws if he considers them inappropriate (immigration laws, for example). He has also made no secret that he considers the Supreme Court as an inappropriate venue to make legal decisions. Thus, we have a President that openly seeks to circumvent the other two branches of government.

Now I am not saying Obama is so bad he might incite a revolution - that is silly. However, if he (or anyone else - he is just an example) took his philosophy to extremes and leveraged federal agencies and the military to refuse to enforce existing laws, and infringe upon the rights of the people (not that he is going to do that), we could very easily end up in a situation of having a despotic government. These are not impossible or fantasy situations that could not arise in our country - or yours, as history has so clearly demonstrated. Is any of that going to happen? I highly doubt it, but the point is it could. Complacent and passive populations have been snockered by despots all throughout history. In the US, the bulk of us are pretty far removed from passive, although that element has admittedly (and sadly) continued to grow in size since WWII. Yes, there are those that would just cower in a corner and let whatever happens happen, but there is still a substantial part of our population that has the gonads and character to do something about it.

Some people feel great sympathy for countries that are run by dictators. I do not feel that sympathy. Dictators can only take over a country in two ways...first, if a majority of the people support the dictator, and second, if they are so passive they just let it happen. In either case, although it sounds a bit harsh, they end up with what they deserve.

The generation before me - the WWII generation - understood these things much better than people do today. Many people today are soft, used to a life of (relative) luxury, and have become accustomed to being taken care of by others rather than having to take of business themselves. The people of yesterday PRESERVED their freedom - some still do. But many people today ASSUME their freedom - which is a serious mistake that I hope for my children's and grandchildren's sakes doesn't become a fatal mistake...

Obama's Justice Department: Gun Control Won't Work Without 'Mandatory' Confiscation



http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...e-search-homes

Of gun owners.

You are not serious about those links I hope? You do know that is a very inaccurate and major right-wing news source, right? They have also been sued for defamation. They are terribly inaccurate, and not credible..... they're known for that. Sorry, but Breitbart is a joke.

When you show me a credible link, from an un-biased site... then I will listen.

Honestly the Brits (as in people who live in Britain today) have about zero interest in the AWI and don't regard it as any loss as its so far back in time it doesnt have any impact on todays world to us and as our two countries have been allies for so long its faded into being 'one of those things that happened'. That is no disrespect to the US - they actually have very little interest or knowledge of WW2 and virtually none at all of WW1 which are more recent events and more relevant to what we see as our own history. I was quite appalled to read a remark from a young british girl on a Youtube site that had a reference to the War Horse film on it and she referred to it as 'wasnt that the war we lost?' I doubt if many could even tell you much about our own civil war (1642 - 1651) which paved the way for the democracy and political governments both the UK and the US enjoy - and of course for any of you on this forum who are from British ancestry it was your civil war too!!! The modern Brit tends to be so focused & obsessed on 'today' and the future that they rarely look back on the past.
Off track ^^^ but we actually study very little of the AWI at school and yes I know that I did over simplify things in my comment but this thread isnt really the place for pages and pages of detail!!!

Brits are not the only ones with a lack of interest in history. We have the same problem here, as is evident even here in reading posts in various threads over time. Many Americans' knowledge of history and government doesn't go much, if any, beyond watching Schoolhouse Rock spots on TV as kids, and rushing to the internet to find a quick reference when a topic comes up.

I think that is very sad. Not only can (and should) we learn from history, but history tells us much of the whos, whats, and whys about ourselves and our governments and cultures.

I don't exactly understand the lack of interest in history myself, as I have a desire to know who I am, why I think the way I do, why our culture is what it is, and how our government works, but I understand that everyone is different and some people just don't much care about those things - they just take life as it comes...a very passive and uninvolved perspective, but people are what they are and have the right to be as they are...

Ya, to many history is just a bunch of dates that need to be memorized just to get through school and then forgotten. Just my opinion but history can be a great barometer for the future but what do I know. I didn't mean to hijack this thread so now back to the regular scheduled discussion.