I've been following this spirited discussion with interest.
Some points: Sorry, Craig: privately funded railroads went belly-up with almost monotonous regularity. The history of the railroad in America is littered with bankruptcies.
Many of the things about which people are complaining aren't federal laws. The states are the ones that have enacted the greatest restrictions on RKBA. Yes, the federal government has restricted what arms we can buy without going through a lot of red tape. And it has said certain classes of people cannot buy firearms. Outside of that, the feds haven't had much to say about keeping and bearing arms. Otherwise, we wouldn't have Alaska, Arizona and Vermont on one end of the spectrum and New York, California and Illinois on the other.
The majority of people are apathetic. It's nothing new; they were during the Revolutionary War, as well. As long as the government steps on someone else's toes, the average person is happy. How many elected officials are returned to office year after year without regard for their accomplishments or lack thereof? A number of the new "Tea Party" Representatives promised to reform but they are already out there holding $250/plate dinners and hobnobbing with the lobbyists.
If you think China would balk at a million casualties, think again. This is the country that uses thousands of people in major projects rather than using modern equipment. The U.S. loses less than 50 miners a year: In 2007, China lost 3,800 in coal mining alone; the Chinese were happy the number had declined. Fortunately, as long as we continue to buy the products they make, an invasion is unlikely.
Politically correct is not law; it's custom. You don't want to be PC? Don't be. It's your First Amendment right.
So who are we fighting? Politicians? Nope; they can be tossed in the next election and, in some states, they can be recalled. Laws can be repealed. Liberals? Not really; some of them like guns, too. The media? There's all sorts of media and there are all sorts of media owners most of whom don't care about bias just as long as they're making money.
The reality is that we have the exact type of government we really want. The U.S. government was set up to be a "hands-on" government where the people were involved and informed. Where the people would be passionate about their rights and accepting of their responsibilities. That's where the militia came from; the Founding Fathers did not trust a government with a standing army. While it may not be in the Constitution, it is clear enough from the writings of Adams, Jefferson and others that the people were the line of defense against tyranny, at home or abroad, and that's why those who created the Constitution enjoined the federal government from ever infringing upon the people's pre-existing right to be armed. For those who think that applies only to the federal government, it's worth noting the framers of the Constitution did not put any limits on the prohibition against infringement. The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law..." It doesn't say anything about the states not making any laws but just about every state holds the First Amendment to be absolute.
Yes, we have put the clamps on Christmas. But we still have a huge Christmas tree every year in the White House. Go figure. If Joe Liebermann were elected President, would we have a giant Chanukah bush? Or the Capitol Menorah?
Our opponents are, by and large, good people. And they think of themselves as good people, fighting what they perceive to be a threat to order and peace. And they have to agree only on one point: increasing gun control.
We, on the other hand, remind me of the Democrats elected in 2008: they couldn't get anything done, even though they controlled both houses, because they couldn't agree on the time of day. We bicker over minutiae like open carry versus concealed carry, sporting pursuits being the only legitimate reason to own guns versus owning guns simply because one wants to own them and whether magazine capacities should be limited.
Gun owners are a minority. However, from the statistics I can find, we are a larger minority than most of the racial groups. To me, this means we should be more effective than we are. Yet, our opposition need not divide us; we do that very nicely all by ourselves. Look at the sheer number of firearms advocacy groups. And most of us would rather bellyache about the status quo than make some waves doing something about it. We complain about the antis getting all the coverage but where are we when it comes to advocacy? Incidentally, I am not holding myself out to be any better or any worse.
I am not saying we need to rock the boat but we might want to think about grabbing the oars and rowing in a different direction.