100
3 votes
Nov 1, 2015

People aren't unhappy with their elected representatives in Congress. They're only unhappy with *everyone else's* elected representatives. What this means, fundamentally, is that Americans simply aren't getting along together any more. The end result is probably going to be either civil war or a break-up of the union.

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100
main reply
1 vote,
Nov 1, 2015

I continue to hope that the citizens learn that the two party system is really one party of government and whomever gets in always wins. I doubt the civil war or break up will be allowed. Those people will be tank hammered worse than Waco before it even starts.

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0
0 votes,
Nov 1, 2015

There isn't that much the government can do to stop a break-up if state-level politicians start pushing for it strongly and different levels of government simply stop cooperating with each other. A federal take-over of state governments wouldn't go over well, and is probably illegal, and if martial law is declared, then we know things are really going south. It's unlikely the military would even enforce it. Countries don't continue to function and prosper when too many people lose faith in all the institutions.

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0
0 votes,
Nov 1, 2015

You are more of an optimist than I. they would roll tanks and drones the second a whisper is heard. The issue would not make it to a vote.

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0 votes,
Nov 1, 2015

Again, tanks and drones require servicemen to operate them (or mercenaries). Do you really think the US military would go against its own people? It's highly unlikely IMO. Also remember, many if not most of the servicemembers are probably from lower-class blue-collar roots, frequently in the southern states, the same areas which would be first to try secession.

Finally, the US military has not proven itself very capable of dealing with urban guerrilla warfare; add to that they'd be fighting their own relatives and friends, in their own hometowns, and it won't work out well for the federal government. They could try hiring a bunch of mercenaries, but where are they going to get enough to put down a massive insurrection (it'd become massive when they hired mercenaries)? Tanks aren't enough; if you want to keep the economy going, you've got to have boots on the ground and you have to prop up local governments. If the whole country's economy collapses, how do you think they're going to continue to pay and feed the army?

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0
0 votes,
Nov 1, 2015

they have gone against their own. brother against brother in the civil war. police kill daily. as do the fbi, cia and other agencies. History is littered with armies that have killed and enslaved their own people. Not an uncommon happening really. Our country likes to think that we are the exception to the rule but sometimes I wonder.

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0
0 votes,
Nov 1, 2015

In all reality, I would find it hard to believe that a political party in the US would go to such a great length to get what they want. In comparison to various other parts/governments of the world, our political spectrum is rather narrow. Simply said, it would take a gargantuan issue to actually cause the union to fall apart (think nuclear war). If anything, the resulting entities would be very unlikely to be at war with each other for many years thanks to the personal connections via the internet. In general, it's a lot easier to be at war with someone who doesn't speak your language.

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linked reply
0 votes,
Nov 1, 2015

A casual reading of history would prove otherwise about mans inhumanity to man in the quest for power. We are no different

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0 votes,
Nov 1, 2015

However, with social networking and today's ability to connect, the "enemy" would be hard to objectify, as many past wars have.

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100
1 vote,
Nov 1, 2015

Police aren't military, though they like to think of themselves as that. I could see a civil war, in fact, where military personnel rebel against the government and act directly against the police.

The civil war was a very different time; the Northern states were very industrialized and populated, and the army came from those states. Not so today. Now it's the "Rust Belt", the economy is based on finance, and probably doesn't contribute so much to the army.

The CIA, FBI, and other agencies do not have armies. FBI agents aren't going to become urban assault troops.

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