How History Is Made

The 2014 State Meeting of the Pennsylvania Militias started with a phone call from one of our members. We put him on speakerphone. He was on his way to Nevada to stand with the Bundys and against the Bureau of Land Management. Near the end of the meeting, we learned that the BLM backed down. Perfect bookends for that meeting!

History was made at the Bundy ranch on April 12th, 2014, but not in the way people expected. On that day, the BLM blinked. But they weren't the only ones - we blinked, too:
- Government overstepping its bounds - everyday event, alas
- Americans getting pissed-off at government overreach - that's expected
- Americans getting pissed-off at something other than 2A restrictions - that's rare, unfortunately
- Government flexing its muscle - that's expected, too
- Other Americans showing up in support - also kind of rare, unfortunately, but not surprising
- Government backing down without a shot being fired - now that's "off script"!

That last step is so unexpected, I believe, because we are "educated" to think that the world is shaped by "historical forces" and not individual actions. According to this view, history is something you survive, not something that you make. As such, whatever happens in our country is inevitable, and that we cannot change the world.

News flash: the world is changing all the time. But who does the changing?

On that day, it was the Bundys and their supporters who did the changing. The militiamen and other supporters went there not to make history, but to protect the Bundys from the government, to stand against tyranny. They were there not to be remembered, but because it was the right thing to do.

They made a difference, and that's all that matters. History comes later.