George Washington once (perhaps apocryphally) noted that: “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

Which is important to remember in light of a recent poll by a major US university that indicated that a majority of Americans believe we will have a civil war in the next 14 years.

I particularly caution those on the left – those who wish for more government – and who also seem to be agitating to revolutionize our system of government, throwing out modes and definitions that no longer suit them – that they should be wary of revolutions (which inevitably lead to civil wars). Most revolutions, after all, end up consuming their creators (ask Robespierre…)

Meanwhile, in Venezuela, another leftist revolution continues unraveling. The actions of the Maduro government this past week support that assessment, even as his army put down an attempted coup. But the people grow ever more tired of inflation approaching 1 million percent, (the International Monetary Fund suggests it could reach 10 million percent by the end of the year), with little to eat, and all of it massively more expansive than what the average family can afford.

Three million have fled the country, but most can’t leave. Thy will eventually find a solution. It will almost assuredly involve violence.
I would add a footnote here: at some point the United States might want to invoke the Monroe Doctrine, as it appears that Maduro is only surviving with the help of Russia, Cuba, and perhaps even China.

And so, there was an attempted coup (which appears to have been poorly organized) by supporters of Juan Guaido (the opposition leader and, recognized by 50 different countries as the president of Venezuela). But, as the Venezuelan army remains loyal to Maduro, and as they were able to quickly contain the violence, Maduro remains in power.

Which led to an interesting exchange on one of the talking heads news shows; it was noted that none of the protesters were armed, that the government had disarmed the population, outlawing private firearm ownership in 2010.

It was then asked whether it would make a difference, whether an armed population can resist its government. Amazingly, no one seemed to have an answer for that…

To state the obvious: an unarmed citizenry can’t resist the government. In such a situation if a government wants to punish an unarmed people, it can.

Simple question: would it be better to disarm and have zero ability to resist a totalitarian government or remain armed and resist at great cost? Is it better that some die? Or that all live in slavery? Ask the German Jews who Hitler disarmed in the 1930s. Or the Ukrainians disarmed by Stalin.
Throughout history more people have died at the hands of their own government than from war; that should ring a cautionary bell to the talking heads. That at least 100 million people died at the hands of their own government during the last 100 years should make the point that much clearer.

But apparently history is not a prerequisite for talking about foreign affairs on TV.

Neither is knowledge of your own country. The Founding Fathers, after all, had in fact led an uprising against their government and quite deliberately inserted that specific ability into our rights – the Bill of Rights.

The 2nd Amendment – despite what anyone might say – is not principally meant to provide self-protection from criminals (though that too is a clear right from the perspective of the Founding Fathers (though they might have scolded me and said it wasn’t a right, it was a responsibility)); the 2nd Amendment is in place to preserve the citizenry’s ability to dictate to the government if the government gets out of bounds.

As Washington also noted:

“The 2nd Amendment is the People’s Liberties teeth.”

So, before things get that far, let’s all step back and remember why the Bill of Rights was drafted.

And if you want to see what things look like without such rights, you don’t need to look far; just take a look at Venezuela.

Copyright 2019 Arrias
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