Briandg I said earlier that I understood your cynicism. After rereading this thread though, I have decided I do not understand your contempt for the American people. We may not meet your standards, and heaven knows we have plenty of issues, but I do not believe for a second that we are incapable of defending our constitution and our liberty if required to do so.
The notion that we are lazy, incompetent and stupid is often the basis for elite members of government to justify tyrannical intrusion into the lives of regular folk. They are just taking care of us for our own good.
Yes, turn off the power for a couple of days and things will get ugly. The consequences of a breakdown the rule of law is unimaginable, but that is not an argument for disarming law-abiding citizens. It is certainly not an argument supporting the idea that we can't defend our nation from tyranny.
The Founding Fathers understood the nature of government. They knew that the 2A was necessary to a free nation. That truth, and human nature hasn't changed. Every passing generation (I am part of this group) thinks the world has gone to hell and probably unprepared and unwilling to meet the challenges of the future. Underestimating the American people's willingness to pick up arms to defend our way of life, whether the threat is from within or without is dangerous. Dismissing the 2A as unimportant to this end is foolish.