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Insurrection

What would it take? (Refer to OP)

  • A persistently deadlocked congress / selfish representatives

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    26
Be advised that the FBI is tracking every person that offers an "interesting view" on this subject.
 
I checked off the following options:
  • A major infringement of the constitution
  • Abdication of power to foreign or domestic institutions (eg. corporations)
  • A provably fraudulent election with no re-vote
  • Martial law or military jurisdiction without proper cause
... because I believe it would take a very sudden paradigm shift for a revolt to become a real possibility. America has in many ways changed dramatically since her birth, but most of these changes have been gradual.

The options I checked are either not examples of a sufficiently dramatic change, or are not specific enough to be a rallying cry. The America of tomorrow will likely require something even more dramatic than what would be required today.

Yeah, a lot of things are broken and need to be fixed, but let's face it -- we don't know the kind of disease, starvation or general suffering known in other parts of the world, and as far as I'm concerned America is too complacent a nation to exhibit the kind of unarmed bravery being seen in Syria.
 
Be advised that the FBI is tracking every person that offers an "interesting view" on this subject.

Or the CIA, DIA, NIA, NSA, DHS, and any number of others. As a war veteran, I find the people effects of revolution revolting. Starvation, unimaginable indignities, death, refugees, homelessness, and every type of inhumanity directed at the powerless. I do not believe revolution nor insurrection would work in the USA, but selective assassination would be effective. The OWS groups target the same groups that can initiate change so if a situation created martial law or a rogue military confrontation, then the targets are identified. Instead of a revolt just smashing the little, relatively harmless citizenry, it could effect cahnge with the surgical precision that the mililtary brags about before they do something like Fallujah or Hiroshima. Who died in those places? The wrong end of the hierarchy. The nicest thing about OWS is that it reminds the upper level of the hierarchy that they should feel fear and perhaps that will initiate change beneficial to the low levels of the hierarchy. Worse, names must be attached to upper hierarchical levels. Real people names. The people with real power. Are there such giants in the USA? Do your homework, just in case.
 
Hate to sound overly cynical but most of those have already occured in our short history.
 
Well a good way is for the government to just keep going on what it's doing. The hallmark of fascism and the closing down of economic mobility, the inequality of justice depending on station in life, etc. As we fall more and more into this hierarchical setting and a true aristocracy begins to emerge; you're at the point of needing insurrection to protect the freedom and liberty of all.
 
Americans won't even vote the tosspots out of office! Why would they take up arms? Arms would be unavailable before most Americans waddle out to the street to see if everyone else is having trouble getting television reception.

I say you must use the system to beat the system. We haven't tried that yet.
 
As it is, I'd revolt against the government if our nation somehow went the communistic route, as in totalitarian arrests, murders, corruption, and things of that nature. The question in my mind is, if people revolt, who is going to die? Pardon my rusty memory but I think it was either Pol Pot or Che Guevera, in his revolt, that many intellectuals were rounded up and murdered in order to reform the nation's school of thought. That thought in mind, how would this revolt go down? I understand this is a general poll but you've got to consider the ramifications. Putting those thoughts aside for a bit, what do you do IF our government becomes increasingly authoritarian and socialistic, as in highly regulated and controlled by the government... yet not violent(for now)? How do you stop the slow and steady descent into a virtually unfree nation?
 
As it is, I'd revolt against the government if our nation somehow went the communistic route, as in totalitarian arrests, murders, corruption, and things of that nature. The question in my mind is, if people revolt, who is going to die? Pardon my rusty memory but I think it was either Pol Pot or Che Guevera, in his revolt, that many intellectuals were rounded up and murdered in order to reform the nation's school of thought. That thought in mind, how would this revolt go down? I understand this is a general poll but you've got to consider the ramifications. Putting those thoughts aside for a bit, what do you do IF our government becomes increasingly authoritarian and socialistic, as in highly regulated and controlled by the government... yet not violent(for now)? How do you stop the slow and steady descent into a virtually unfree nation?

Pike a few heads. You don't have to overthrow the whole of government, just take out a couple of officials and make it known that if they don't reform, we'll have no other recourse than engage in all out revolt.

The one thing about the aristocracies of old, with the King and nobles and all that....every once in awhile, the People killed them to keep them in line.
 
The beauty of our system is that we can change it as we need. There is no need for armed insurrection. Outside of a coup, our government is our responsibility.

that's a good point - but it leaves out the possibility of government collapse.
 
that's a good point - but it leaves out the possibility of government collapse.

I do not see that as a terribly likely scenario.
 
that's a good point - but it leaves out the possibility of government collapse.

No, it leaves out the possibility of voter apathy.
 
I make it a point not to discuss the terms under which I would engage in open revolt against the government. All I'd be doing is telling the government when it needs to go gunning for me.

I will say that all it would take would is a movement forming that I think would produce a better government than we have now-- and that in my life, I have never seen such a movement.
 
I do not see that as a terribly likely scenario.

I see it as a less than 50% likely scenario.... but not significantly less than 50%. maybe 37%ish.
 
No, it leaves out the possibility of voter apathy.

:) I believe it was Voltaire who wrote that the best form of government was democracy tempered with assassination?
 
I chose oly three...

Abdication of power to foreign or domestic institutions (eg. corporations)
A provably fraudulent election with no re-vote
Martial law or military jurisdiction without proper cause

The great thing about this country is we have methods of non-violently changing the entire shape of government. The only way I could see armed revolt happening is if something happened to provably show that such methods are being forcefully denied.
 
Taking up arms against your government would be futile. They have the guns, the planes, the ships and everything else that can kill you, and kill you they would, without hesitation. We are stuck with the government but we do have an alternative...never re-elect anyone for any reason. Force everyone into one term by our voting. It's peaceful and it would work to begin to sort-out the crap they've gotten us in to...would it take years? Yes, but that is better than the alternative because that is death.
 
:) I believe it was Voltaire who wrote that the best form of government was democracy tempered with assassination?

Well certainly during the time of kings and nobility, assassination/uprising/beheading was used to keep the government in line.
 
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