"The first thing that has to go before a dictator can take over a country is the individuals firearms. It is always done as a public safety campaign. Never mind that a majority of the people have no qualms about law abiding citizens owning firearms. Germany lost theirs prior to Hitlers reign.
The right to bear arms was put in our constitution not as a public safety issue. It was recognized at that time, and now, that it is virtually impossible to enslave a country in which its citizens can and do own firearms."
Another aspect of the right to bear arms is that it provides another check and balance for our government. By having a well armed militia and citizenry, it allows provides the people with the means to depose of the government if it becomes corrupt and tyrannical. The same goes for the military. Many people outside the US do not realize this, but soldiers in the US military do not swear an oath to the government, they swear to uphold the constitution.
How has that hand gun ban worked for you there in the UK? The Home office shows that the number of Firearm related crimes in the UK is up from approx 5k in 1997 when the ban took place to over 10k in 2006/2007.
This is just simply untrue isn't it? I mean don't 1 in 8 people own an AK-47?
Russia - Lots of Guns - basically autocratic
Somalia - Lots of Guns,lots of militias,lots of enslavement.
Iraq- Every man and his dog has a gun - you have gun markets in towns across the Arab world. Yet the Middle East is rife with autocracy and theocracy. The same goes for Africa - Sierra Leone,Rwanda etc.
Most of the countries you list here are crushing dictatorships and anarchies. Yeah, everyone has guns, but there is no rule of law or sense of government in Somalia, Sudan, and other Central African Countries. All of the weapons in the world will not resolve their ancient blood feuds.
Its interesting that you mention the Middle East. Israel, the only true democracy (except Turkey and now Iraq) in the Middle East. Everyone has a gun and is very well trained to use it. That is one of the only reasons that the country still exists given the desire of its neighbors to destroy it. Trust me, my grandfather smuggled weapons around Tele Viv just before Independence was announced.
Hitler's rise to power has nothing to do with the lack of arms in Germany. His whole popularity was built upon his oration of German frustration regarding the Treaty of Versailles and the chronic poverty of Germany. He also played on Anti-Semitism and the inaeffectivness of the Weimar establishment who could do very little to improve the economic situation.
"A key element of Hitler's appeal was his ability to evoke a sense of offended national pride caused by the Treaty of Versailles imposed on the defeated German Empire by the Western Allies. Germany had lost economically important territory in Europe along with its colonies and in admitting to sole responsibility for the war had agreed to pay a huge reparations bill totaling 132 billion marks. Most Germans bitterly resented these terms, but early Nazi attempts to gain support by blaming these humiliations on "international Jewry" were not particularly successful with the electorate. The party learned quickly, and soon a more subtle propaganda emerged, combining antisemitism with an attack on the failures of the "Weimar system" and the parties supporting it."
I bet you'd struggle to find a historian who would place the lack of an armed citzenry as the reason behind why Hitler rose to power.
Funny you mention the Weimar Republic's printing of money. That seems to be what Obama is doing now to pay for the stimulus bill and other agendas we cannot afford. We have printed so much money that the value of the dollar has practically collapsed this year. The last time we printed cash this fast was back in the 70's under Jimmy Carter. That ended with massive inflation and interest rates near 20%. How did Regan resolve this mess?? Lowering taxes... you gotta love trickle down economics!! Do you want to see how utterly screwed we are as a country? Just take a look at this website.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
So what you're left with is a heavily armed citizenry who have access to drugs,alcohol and are unstable as all humans are. Hell I've felt like shooting some people in the past. But this is the problem with a codifiied constition - its difficult to amend especially when powerful industries have lobbied interests - and they don't get more powerful then the military industrial complex.
This may seem like a leap, but lets look at nuclear weapons. The reason we are going after Iran and North Korea to prevent them from building nuclear weapons is that these are fundamentalist regimes run by megalomaniacs that will have no problems selling them to the highest bidder or use them to hold their neighbors at ransom. It is perfectly okay for the UK, China, German and France to have nukes because they understand that they are a weapon of the very last resort and a deterrent to most aggressors. Having guns in the hands of law abiding citizens is rarely a problem. It is a matter of trust that people will respect the gun for what it is. Criminals on the other hand are barred by law from owning or possessing guns because they have shown they cannot be trusted.
I agree the primary reason you came out of depression was WWII - but remeber WWII began in 1939. That's 10 years since the Wall Street Crash. The alphabet agencies helped stimulate the economy towards the crescendo that was WWII. But perhaps far more important was that it gave millions the dignity of an income and work. No matter how small that was. And in that respect it is an example of a Great American Experiment.
Another reason why the Second Great Depression was so bad was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. It is a great example of why taxation is never the answer to boosting the economy. The tariffs that were levied created a trade war that pretty much destroyed the US manufacturing base by decreasing US imports and exports by 50% ish.
"Any government can turn on its own population given the right people and circumstances come together. It is far easier when the citizens have no means to defend themselves."
Can I ask what world do you live in?I mean i don't like politicians as much as the next man but I don't have any fears of any kind of autocracy. Is Barack Obama really turning on the population by trying to figure out how to give them all healthcare? Not everyone in Government is planning world domination or is suddenly going to try and become the next Hitler. Why the mistrust of Government but a certain trustworthiness to the profit grabbing Insurance Companies etc? Come to Europe mate - soften your eyes see how brilliant some Goverment instituions can be.
Ben Franklin warned us against making the poor comfortable in their poverty. When you give the poor, especially the lazy poor free services and entertainment (panem et circenses?), they become endebted to their "masters" and will keep them in power to keep the free ride going.
I agree Dan its a ridiculous state of affairs but that's the price of low taxation, ultra intensive military spending and what appears to be a Superpower in decline. As you point out your national debt means your sovereignty is comprimised - the horse has already bolted in that respect. In essence, the American economy is being propped up with Chinese money. There the ones buying insurance bonds etc from the American Gvt.
It also comes from having too many government entitlements that cannot be supported. Are our taxes low? Yes, and we love it. There is an economic theory known as the Laffer Curve. It basically states that an increase in taxation does not necessarily mean an increase in revenue. Maryland is a great example. They recently increased the income taxes on high wage earners. As a result, many of the well paid lawyers living in the sate moved the Virginia and Delaware where the taxes are less. This has now resulted in a budget shortfall for Maryland.
