Historically, where are we at?

Originally posted this on a militia forum I belong to...

Comparisons between past and current events are often made in the discussions here, essentially stating that the present situation is like...

1) Just before the Revolutionary War
2) Just before the Civil War
3) During the Cold War
4) France under the Vichy Régime during World War II
5) None of the above

Historically, where are we at? We all are armchair generals to a point, but the purpose in asking this isn't to set armchair generals all a-twitter. It is asked in hopes of finding overlooked tactics, strategies, or anything else that would help us restore freedom!

A strong case could be made for each of the above analogies, and that case would only be strengthened by what comes next.

So, we have us rightfully and deeply pissed-off at a distant and corrupt government, one which has no regards for individual rights and that treats us as their ATM machine. Small militias spring up like mushrooms. Then, a general who was passed-over for promotion switches sides...

Or, we have our country dividing along issues of individual rights, state rights, and federal authority. Rhetoric gets hot, media fans the flames, and people stop listening to each other. Then, it is brother against brother...

Or, we have two cautious enemies, each waiting for the other to make the next move - both agreeing that the first move has already been made. Then, one side realizes (while waiting for the translation) that they can no longer afford to play...

Or, we have our leaders selling-out to those would deprive us of individual rights. They have turned the machinery of the state into tools of oppression. Then, a bunch of draft-dodgers form the Maquis and they try to hold off the bad guys as best they could...

If none of the above are right, we could be down with General Stanley McChrystal, who, by switching to a counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan, understood that the next war could be different from the last one, and that analogies could either sharpen one's vision or cause blindness. Too bad he didn't have the wisdom to realize that some wars should not be fought, nor to realize that Al-Qaeda has natural selection on its side...

Historically, where are we at? This isn't an idle question - the answer determines, in part, the tactics and strategies that would be most successful in regaining our freedom. 

Armchair generals: ready, set, GO!