Possession of Guns Will Not Be Enough
to Protect Americans Against Tyranny
by Stuart DiNenno
April 7, 2020
The following statement expresses a belief held by many Americans today:
“As long as millions of Americans are armed with guns, there is no way that the government can tyrannize us to a great extent.”
Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that the current restrictions upon us because of the virus hysteria are not an example of tyranny, and let’s also grant that Americans have not been subjected to any grievous form of government oppression up until this point in history. Even if we concede those two points, we still need to ask regarding the future: Is it true that the possession of millions of guns by Americans will necessarily prevent them from being subjected to harsh tyranny? I believe it is not true for the following reasons:
(1) Every war is first and foremost a battle for the mind. If a government can convince the people that its tyranny is actually protection, and the imprisonment or oppression of some political dissidents is for the good of the majority, then it has largely nullified the opposition and eliminated the threat that gun ownership among the people might otherwise have been. If the propaganda is effective enough, it may even convince the common man to work contrary to his own interests and fight against those who are opposing the real enemies (i.e., the people in power who are producing the propaganda). This has already been accomplished to a great degree in America and is best exemplified in our military, which in the last 160 years has used millions of willing soldiers to fight unnecessary wars that are contrary to the interests of the American people and have served to kill over a million Americans, and many millions more non-Americans.
(2) It is one thing to possess arms and quite another to possess the will to use those arms in resistance to real power. I do not believe that such a will exists on a large scale in America today. The younger generation of men in this country is likely to be the most weak and effeminate group of men ever to have walked the face of the earth, and few of them have any real moral convictions. I think as long as they have the basic necessities of life and a large dose of entertainment to distract them, not many among those who even recognize what is happening are going to muster the backbone to rise up against the tyranny, and more than a few would likely turn the guns on themselves before they would venture out from their movie, sport, porn, and video game fantasy worlds to fight a real battle.
(3) Even if many American men did have the will to fight against tyranny, effective opposition requires organization — a unified front against the tyrants. But the people of this so-called nation are divided in many ways and I cannot envision this state of affairs changing for the better anytime soon. Lone dissidents and small groups of insurgents engaging in losing gun battles with local police or government agents are not going to make a difference, and as long as the mainstream media is controlled by our enemies, such actions will only be presented as murderous rebellion against lawful authority perpetrated by evil men or lunatics, which most people will believe, and so will likely do more damage than benefit to the cause of our freedom.
(4) It will not necessarily require face-to-face confiscation or armed conflict to selectively render gun owners impotent. We are reaching a point where the government has the ability to shut down our lives to a great extent. I can see a time when those on a list of dissidents maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, or some other government agency, could find themselves shackled by various means. For example, there might come a time when being on such a list prevents one from being able to obtain employment or hinders him from operating a business. Or someone on such a list may one day find that his right to travel is taken away, so that he not only is unable to leave the country by the usual means of transportation, but even his driver’s license is revoked so that he cannot drive anywhere and is thereby hindered from earning a living wage. Perhaps such a man would one day try to use his debit card or withdraw cash from the bank and find out that his account has been frozen by the government. In a society where citizens are subject to a great deal of surveillance, and their interactions are controlled by networks of regulation and are monitored electronically, there are all sorts of ways that dissidents can be brought to heel without ever having to be confronted physically, and the government can put laws in place to accomplish that end by various means. I believe it is possible to endure all of it and fight on, but I also believe that most American men today are ill-prepared for suffering and few are willing to make the sacrifices that it will take to overcome such obstacles.
None of this is to say that we ought to despair of the future. It is just a recognition of the fact that a godless people has no hope of standing against evil because it is evil. Satan cannot cast out Satan. What is needed in America is a true Christian revival. Without repentance and faith in God, which only come as a result of the Spirit of God working in the hearts of men, there can be nothing in America’s future but defeat and doom. But even if the USA falls and Americans are enslaved, which I believe will happen, that does not mean that Christians should lose hope. God can bless His people in the midst of captivity, just as He did with Daniel and his friends when they were carried away to Babylon. Christians must always keep in mind “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)