Gumby, I politely suggest that I've read intermittently for decades about why that war was fought, and I *still* can't point to a single over-arching cause of it. Attributing Prof. Ellis's analysis of the founders' philosophical debate regarding the nature of government as *the* issue leading to the American Civil War overlooks numerous other issues dividing the regions of country: economics, ethnicity, and political power (at the federal level) initially, then slavery also after about 1831.
Regarding the post-election stampede to buy the biggest, baddest firepower on the market: I own several (unregistered) firearms, all family heirlooms, some of which are curiosities or antiques. I would not voluntarily surrender or register them, even though I haven't fired them in decades. I qualified with, and occasionally used, weapons when I was in the Army, and I'm comfortable with them. I think there are places in the US where it is prudent to own a weapon to protect home, self, and family. I think the US Supreme Court reached the right decision in overturning the District of Columbia's outright ban on handguns and unreasonable restrictions on shoulder weapons. Nonetheless, I think the buying frenzy that has occurred in the past week is irrational to the point of panic.
I guess that makes me a moderate, the object of hatred by extremists on both poles of the political spectrum. Indeed, I think the greatest danger to any benign form of government (ours or any other) is extremism, whether from the left or the right. (I can think of at least two revolutions resulting initially in a moderate form of government that was quickly overturned in bloody fashion by extremists.)
FWIW, I worry more about the viability of other amendments in the Bill of Rights more than that of the Second.
Cheers,
John
