From: name withheld
- I read your post yesterday, but when does the civil war actually start?
I didn’t do a very good job on yesterday’s civil war article, so let me take another stab at it.
It is more complicated than “when”…what part do you want to hear my opinion on?
Before I answer your question let’s touch on the actual US Civil War. There had been problems between the northern and southern states for at least a decade prior to the Civil War starting. Tensions really ratcheted up in the mid-1850’s. Customarily there are three primary reasons for the Civil War: states’ rights, slavery, and westward expansion. But, there is a far more fundamental reason…wealth. The north and south were fundamentally different in terms of wealth per capita…the north was far more wealthy than the south in terms of wealth per capita…and that was the main difference and primary problem in my opinion.
In early 1861 Confederate forces were threatening Fort Sumter. In March 1861 Lincoln took office and the next month he ordered Fort Sumter resupplied knowing full-well it would ignite the war. On April 12, 1861 Confederate forces opened fire with artillery on Fort Sumter, the fort surrendered two days later. The war was on.
Now let’s look at the American Revolution. There is a fair share of historians that see 1763 as the year that started the run-up to the revolution. In 1763 the King of England stopped westward expansion denying, or at least drastically reducing, colonists the ability to better themselves economically and to own land. The following year the King implemented new and heavy tax burdens on the colonists that started an economic downturn for almost all colonists; the exception being the large English company owners that worked closely with the British government.
Further fueling the problems was the British government’s judicial system heavily slanted against the average person, very heavy-handed government officials, and the ability to seize colonists’ property on demand without a court process. In 1769 Alexander McDougall, a journalist, published an article critical of the King and the British government…he was tried, sentenced and imprisoned for it. In 1770 the Boston Massacre took place, no soldiers were ever sent to prison for that slaughter of unarmed colonists. In 1773 the Boston Tea Party took place. In April of 1775 British soldiers (the British Empire’s law enforcement officers) opened fire on Colonial militia. The war was on.
Neither the Civil War nor the American Revolution just started…they built up over a couple decades…then exploded after a specific ignition event.
So a natural question would be…”Are we on the verge of a civil war or a revolution?”
Oddly, I think we have elements of both taking place. The average US citizen is horrifically oppressed by government…especially taxation. Depending on your tax bracket, your location, and your driving habits, you work 4 – 6 months per year just to pay your taxes to the various levels of government. That far exceeds what the burden was on the colonists under the British rule that spawned the slogan “no taxation without representation.” I imagine few Americans today feel they are even heard in Washington let alone represented.
If you don’t think you or someone else is “oppressed” by government…well, think the boiling crab concept. Or, have you just accepted and adjusted your life to the tremendous government control in your life?
There is a huge economic divide in America right now. In the US right now (2023 figures) the top 20% of US citizens (the rich) possess about $130trillion in wealth. The middle and lower classes (80% of US citizens) possess barely $25trillion in wealth. So, 84% of the wealth is controlled by 20% of the people. Conversely, just 16% of the wealth is controlled by 80% of Americans. Now that is a larger economic divide than pre-Civil War.
I see the top two issues, one of the Revolution and one of the Civil War, exist in today’s world…but they are worse now than the “pre-shooting” period in either war. And the case is easily made that the US Empire is every bit as tyrannical as the British Empire was in the 1770’s…maybe even worse.
Looking at both situations objectively I see us not on the precipice of a Civil War or a Revolution…I see us in the run-up stage. Yes, meaning “it” has already started.
You can go back to the 1990’s when the federal government wiped out the “militia” concept and made them criminal. You can look at the last several years’ draconian tyrannical actions on the part of the federal government…such as the 
wholesale arrests of pro-life senior citizen activists, pastors/ministers, and the Jan6th folks. You can even see actual shooting of people taking place as well such as Craig Robertson. Now look at Presidential efforts over the last 24 years…very, very similar in nature to the anti-liberty/rights/freedom actions taken by the British Empire in the 1760 – 70’s.
Now let me come full circle back to your question…and whether “it” is a civil war or a revolution…”it” has already started…and can’t be stopped. By “stopped” I mean it will end-up in a shooting event between the two Americas…with only one possible option to prevent it.
Now, which two Americas in the key. Will it be rich vs poor, white vs non-white, Dems vs Repubs, liberals vs conservatives, law enforcement vs citizens, US military vs US citizens???? I don’t know between whom it will start…I don’t even know if it will break down into two Americas once it starts. I believe it will devolve more into tribal conflicts…many groups against many other groups.
I also see it ending nothing at all like the American Revolution. If the government wins, which I believe it mostly likely will, we will be living in a situation such as Soviet Union or Communist China…maybe even something akin to North Korea. If the “revolutionaries” win…then we look like the aftermath of the French Revolution…bloody, destructive, and horrible.
Here is an interesting fact…the US Army killed the 2nd most Americans of any army in any war…second only to the number 
of Americans killed in WWII. So the US Army has no problems killing Americans. When looked at in total…American armies (US and Confederate) killed 50% more Americans than all those Americans who died in WWII. So Americans have no problem whatsoever killing each other…no problems at all. Add to that…when you total up the number of federal law enforcement personnel in the US they are about 7th largest army in the world. Yeah…think about all of those numbers and stats for a minute…let them sink in.
So again, “it” has already started. What hasn’t happened yet is a full-scale shooting war. But we could be staring that right in the face. Look at the southern border crisis between the federal government and the State of Texas. That could easily explode and the shooting starts. Think about what could happen as a result of the 2024 presidential election…regardless of who takes over the White House.
Then there is crazy Uncle Joe himself…and those that control him. They would love a shooting war to start in the US…as would most war-mongering federal law enforcement.
What you should be asking yourself is this:
- Where do you stand on this conflict and what will you do to protect yourself, your family, your community, and your congregation?
- How does “it” end?
- What does the US look like after “it” ends…and how do you fit into that?
All that being said…pray for divine intervention. He can stop this…the question is…
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