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Facts.

TBH, the stockpiles of weapons that some Americans have in their basements doesn't seem to make them any more inclined to openly defy the government.

It's the opposite: the portion of the population with fewer weapons is more willing to protest.

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Low Information Voter 1y ago

Perhaps the gun owners are less likely to protest because the government is less likely to do things that they don't like that are obvious enough to upset them?

"Whatever happens,

We have got,

The Maxim Gun,

And they have not"

- Belloc Hillaire, and every government that isn't the USA.

Last century, at least twenty different governments killed at least a million of their own subjects ("democide"). Democracies, autocracies, single-party regimes. Right-wing and Left-wing. Religious and secular.

But none of them was the US of A. Even though it is #4 or so for population, and has at least as many bad politicians as anywhere else.

Something is very unusual about the US of A, and I think its likely the way the tax base can shoot back.

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Discussion

Laeserin 1y ago

The US federal government constantly does stuff the populace hates and they pay absolutely onerous federal taxes.

What the USA has, that nobody else has to that extent, is strong state governments. The closest is probably Germany, where the Americans wrote the Basic Law for the Federal Republic. Or Switzerland.

Low Information Voter 1y ago

I would argue US federal taxes are not particularly onerous. Only half of taxpayers are liable for federal income tax at all!

The govt does many things its populace hates, but they maintain deniability and point fingers in many directions. Unfortunately, people are stupid, busy and disorganised, but USians still doing better than most.

Strong state governments can only survive long where the Federal govt does not have an effective monopoly on force. Or where the Federal politicians slavishly imitate a foreign govt that does not.

George Vaccaro 1y ago

Great points. One correction: it's more like 260,000,000 not 1,000,000.

https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE5.HTM

First rule of gun use, don't pull it out unless your life is credibly threatened and you are prepared to use it.

Similarly, we won't use them when our job is threatened if we don't get the experimental jab. However if they came door to door and tried to force it into us and/or our children then I'm pretty confident there would have been serious push back.

For people who either willingly gave up their guns or never considered or still don't understand their necessity to criticize us for not giving up our lives over lower priority issues is a bit comicsl and also demonstrates childish immaturity or maybe something uglier.

When they are necessary it will be obvious.

Your point is astute. The fact that we have so many guns and attentive gun owners definitely limits the creative imaginations of our "ruling class". It's a power balancer sort of like a cold war.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.