This interview was strictly a thought exercise. Both Ben and myself do not suggest in any way that it is time to start a civil war in our country. During this thought exercise we will look at the realities of Americans against Americans and what that might look like. 

 

Right now the US military is about one point two million strong with about eight hundred thousand in reserve. That's about two million active military personnel spread out throughout the globe. There are about nine hundred thousand police officers and about another fifty to one hundred thousand individuals employed in other aspects of the Federal Government. All these forces combines equals about three million police officers and military combined. That is only about one percent of the three hundred and thirty million United States Citizens that inhabit this country. The numbers are not in favor of the Federal Government. If just a small segment of the United States population took up arms against the Federal Government, the government would need assistance from the general population to maintain order. 

 

In addition to these staggering population numbers, there are about sixty to one hundred million gun owners in the United States. There are about six hundred to eight hundred million guns in the hands of private gun owners. Somehow they estimate that there are about seven point four billion rounds in the hands of private citizens. That being said, if the citizens don't want to go along with the government, the government will not be able to control the citizenry. This can be a scary proposition if you are seated in Washington, DC.

 

The expansive landmass of the United States will also present a problem. There are places like Hawaii and Alaska that may never see the evidence of a war if it happens in the continental United States. This expansiveness does not just create a wide variety of terrain challenges, the people and culture of those people is also vastly different depending on the region of the United States you are in. People in New York probably don't have too much in common with people from San Antonio. They may speak the same root language but the slang and social nuances can be vastly different. 

 

The terrain itself creates many different variables. There is no way to control city centers like New York or Los Angeles without carpet bombing these areas. It is doubtful that such an order would ever be given. There would not only be devastating loss of life but also the infrastructure itself would be destroyed costing billions of dollars in damages. If you are not used to the sand and sun the high deserts of Texas, California and the west will test your resolve. There are places where individuals can go and never get found out there. 

 

The citizens of the United States tend to join bonds within their communities. This includes relationships between law enforcement officers, the military and the citizens. Everyone lives harmoniously together. If a civil war were to take place and people were asked to stand firmly for one side or another, knowing your adversary on the battlefield may present many moral issues. The military and law enforcement forces are well aware of this. The solution would be a transferring of assets from one geographical location to another. This way the law enforcement or military is much less likely to have a relationship with the citizens that make up that community. However, given the vast geographical differences it may be very hard for someone from the deserts in the south to adjust to a cold winter in the north. 

 

 

 

There is also the possibility that the citizens of the United States might demand martial law. If there were to be a big uprising of a certain segment of the population the other citizens may call upon the police and military forces of this country to create a presence in communities in order to maintain the community's safety. The citizens of the country would become complacent in the fact that there is a large military presence in every city, making control of the entire populous more attainable. 

 

Many people do not believe that the armaments of the citizens would be able to compete with the armaments of the military. That assumption is not correct and it is being done overseas right now. Ben knows of a sniper with an M16 A2 service rifle that removed many adversaries from the playing field before he was eliminated. Many household contain a deer hunting rifle that could be a major problem for an invading force. Bigger weapons like tanks do massive damage to the infrastructure of a community. The opposing force must be willing to destroy buildings, cars, and people, otherwise it is just a show of force that destroys everything it rolls over. As far as nuclear weapons there is no way a active duty military member would follow an order to fire a nuclear weapon on US soil against US citizens. Infrastructure damage would be a major concern, rendering many of the military's big weapons useless. 

 

It is unlikely that an opposing force would square off directly with the military anyhow. The fight would come in the form of insurgencies that tag and run. There are a lot of veterans of the armed forces among the civilian population. These individuals are trained in military tactics and some of them even wrote the books that the new recruits study. These individuals know the tactics of the military and would be priceless to the civilian population. 

 

The police and military forces of The United States of America swore an oath to the Constitution not the government. Many of these service people would have a big problem with an order that told them to take up arms against American citizens and kill them in mass numbers. Orders can be followed to the point of receiving armaments and then informing commanders that the order is not going to be followed. If you have a platoon of fully armed service people and they are standing their ground against an order, there is little that can be done to change their mind.

 

If there ever is a time when a fight comes to American soil, the self-sufficiency of the American people will play a huge role. When fighting starts, the first thing that will happen is a food shortage. If a family is fed, they are free to focus on other issues. However, if people are starving, their thought process will be much different. In big cities food is on demand. Some cities only contain one day's food supply for the city. When a food shortage occurs, these cities will be in big trouble. The big question is: How long will the food last? When it is gone, people will side with whoever is feeding them. Farmers, homesteaders and folks growing and raising their own food will be fed by their own efforts and much less likely to feel the pain as deeply. Therefore, they would be much less likely to follow a leader whose moral compass was not in line with their own. 

 

Following a nation wide disaster, many Americans may not have a problem following a dictator that is making sure the country is fed and getting back on track. Freedom is not easy or safe. It requires individual struggle and a commitment to community success. If a dictator was chosen, one would hope that the backbone of America is strong enough to return us to a righteous path were everyone receives equal rights under the law of nature and nature's God. Once people are being fed maintaining a dictatorship might become much more difficult for that leader. 

 

However, confidence in the strength of the American backbone has been put into question as of late. The thought that certain segments of the population are better suited to make important decisions than other segments of the population is permeating society. There are many Americans today that may choose to follow the rule of a dictator if they believed it was going to be in their best interest. The stress of a nationwide disaster would almost certainly cause the influence that these people need to make that step. Given that city centers have the most people and most of these people would be starving they are more likely to follow this dictatorial leader. Population wise the United States may have a fifty/fifty split on who would follow and who wouldn't. However, in terms of landmass, the dictator may only rule over 20%, because people in the country would be less likely to follow. 

A nationwide disaster will make communities more tribal. Given the vast differences in opinions, geographical location, and cultures, if the union is in question, the United States may dissolve. The result may be three to five individual countries with their own unique governments and laws. This is not a conspiracy theory. Many states have already had succession from the United States on their ballet. This November California will be voting to succeed and to break the state into three states to better represent it's citizens. 

 

In my opinion: The United States of America is on a slippery slope right now. The freedoms that we all hold so dear are constantly threatened by other citizens using their freedoms to remove the rights of others. Their goal is noble and the belief that they will help make the wold a better place drives  them forward. Fellow citizens value the same principle are ridiculed and rejected by society. This is not the America that has carried the torch of Liberty since its creation. Each citizen of the United States of America, adhering to the constitution which binds us all, should be treated with respect from their fellow country people. If the opinions of all Americans were the same it would make for a very stagnate, boring place to live. Debate, freedom of speech and free exchange of ideas should always be welcome. It is what makes America a diverse, creative, charitable and prosperous place to live. Passions and societal change should be encouraged through community involvement not government institution of more laws limiting personal freedoms. Each American citizen deserves the right to freely choose their own path and the respect and trust to be left alone to do so. This does not mean that safety will be ensured one hundred percent of the time. There are American Citizens facing individual stresses that effect them everyday. No one can control what their reaction to those stresses will be. Removing the rights of American citizens because of inappropriate/lawless behavior, is not the solution.