Insisting


"Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world."

Concord Hymn, Ralph Waldo Emerson

No government has lasted forever.

Many evolve, as has ours. Some have gone away suddenly, often by violent means and force of arms, but many through the slow attrition of will power and economics.

The United States of America has a long way to go before equaling the longevity of the Roman Empire.

Many will argue that was a series of governments, very different governments, not just one. But our government has also evolved–ending slavery was a big change–and I dare say the Founding Fathers would be aghast at some of the legislated policies and practices that we’ve adopted over the intervening centuries.

But the question is, if you’re caught up in the midst of some change and you have a suspicion it’s not going to go your way, what can you do to ensure that your vision, not that of someone else, will prevail?

That’s where “the boxes” apply: the soap box, the ballot box and, ultimately, the ammo box.

To be blunt, the latter is what the Second Amendment is about, and for.

The farmers and shopkeepers of 1776 understood. Wars end when the “cost” becomes too high as it did when the farmers of Massachusettes, over several years, evolved into the Continental Army that ultimately drove the British to capitulate and abandon their efforts, … when that cost becomes too high, one side gives up and the other wins. War is an expensive and terrible venture.

But when things become unbearable, that is how it works. It has always been that way. When the government of France, in times of great civil unrest, quit and “temporarily” granted all power to Napoleon to save the country, they eventually lost everything, but it took time. The changes accumulated slowly over a span of years. Ultimately, Napoleon betrayed the populace and seized all power for himself alone.

Emporer Napoleon.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Always.

Don’t forget it.

History

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