Recently, three gentlemen from Michigan fell afoul of the law. In some quarters, this is seen as the last straw-- a final slap in the face that tells us we have no hope of ever achieving our aims through peaceful means. But is this really so?

In any particular year, approximately 200,000-300,000 personnel will be released from the active duty armed forces of the United States and returned into the militia pool from whence they were originally drawn. In the five years since Waco, for example, the unorganized militias have therefore received more than one million trained men (and women) from this single source. In twenty years, the numbers leap to somewhere between four and five million-- or more than twice the strength of the active duty forces on any given day. In addition, every militia unit contains many men who have never served in the armed forces but have generously offered their time and effort in the service of a cause they believe to be just.

Those of us living in military towns also understand the deep sympathy felt by most of the active duty personnel for the aims of the militia, if not always holding professional respect for their level of combat readiness. Nevertheless, it is clear that the active forces, reserves, and militia

TOGETHER form an invulnerable coalition against any sinister force which may dare to assail the ramparts of the Constitution via frontal assault. The only method in which this nation can be destroyed via military action is through division of this united front into warring factions. Pushing the militias into conflict with their little brothers (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force) is the surest, swiftest road to national ruin that I could possibly think of and could only serve the purposes of those who seek the downfall of America. Suppose, for example, that each state of the Union gains five converts to the militia/patriot cause every day. Even in Colorado, population 3,500,000, that isn't much of an accretion, yet I am sure that we gain that much every day even in small population states. How much more do we gain in California, New York, or Texas? Still, let's suppose that each state gains just five new members daily. That means 5x365 a year -- or 1,825 per state annually.

Multiplied by 50 gives us 91,250 per annum in the entire country. Even these lowball estimates make it plain that 500,000 recruits have joined the ranks since Waco. Don't forget that each of those half-million have wives and girlfriends and children and other relatives.

Put simply, the numbers are enormous and growing constantly. True, most of these people don't show up at the local militia meeting. Yet they exist. The middle class is quietly educating itself and quietly preparing for trouble. Are there more or fewer guns in America than in any time previous? Are there more or fewer defenders of the Second Amendment today than at any time previous?

Due to the relatively high standard of living presently enjoyed by Americans, it is highly likely that the percentage of armed citizens is higher than it has ever been before (Cowboy movies not withstanding). More to the point, the level of private armaments is backed by the highest concentration of ammunition and reloading equipment that has ever been achieved-- probably by several orders of magnitude. These numbers are alsogrowing. Despite the President's remorseless attack on guns, it is clear that America is arming at a feverish pace and he could have probably done his own cause much better service by never attempting to ban guns. I am sure that each and every one of you can name all sorts of friends, relatives, and neighbors who have chosen to pick up a gun or two simply because of the possibility of future bans. People who would otherwise have never chosen to own a gun. People who become gun lovers once they've made their first trip out to the range. People who become gun collectors because one is never enough for any gun lover. Once it would have been highly suspect to have more than ten or twenty rounds per gun. Now thousand-round case purchases are commonplace. As do you, I know many, many people with thousands of rounds of ammunition in their possession.

In short, we are winning the arms race hands down in much the same way as we are winning the manpower war. So the feds have 60,000 gun-carrying agents? Big damn deal. How far is that going to go against the millions at our command? So there are 2,000,000 Eastbloc troops hiding in molehills out in the boonies? Hardy-har-har. Even if they exist (which they don't), they can easily be induced to desert via the blandishments offered by American consumer society. All those AKs are defenseless against American girls, American cars, and American malls.

Clearly then, the republic is secure from any physical threat of conquest. What remains are political dangers. Even here, however, the increasing number of people who are "rediscovering" the concept of individual rights gives great hope for our future prospects. Who doubts that government is as big as it is going to get without a fight? Even Bill Clinton is forced to falsely champion welfare and tax reform in order to co-opt the issue away from those who would actually do something about it. These are defensive tactics, a delaying action waged without hope of success-- unless personal continuation in elected office can be counted as success.

Sure there are many false friends out there giving lip service to causes they don't really believe in but even this is a sign of our continually growing strength. Even our political enemies must pretend to be in favor of things they abhor in order to retain their grip on power. Even they are forced into action by the growing chorus of constitutional voices in this country.

One- by-one they fall by the wayside. Better, truer men will take their places as they prove themselves false to their oath and the desires of their constituencies.

This isn't an overnight process. We didn't get into this mess in one fell swoop and we're not getting out except through the same mixture of patience and resolution which freedom's enemies used to chip away at our rights. Well now we're the ones tapping at the weak spots in their creation and every day we undermine their foundations just a little bit more. They can frantically patch and seal all they want but I know that we will eventually breach the wall and come rushing forth in a torrent of redeemed liberty.

We are winning now. For every three who become ensnared, there are ten thousand joining the ranks. Nor are these three dead men. They still have the opportunity of a trial. Even if convicted, I don't think their beliefs will have changed. Whether in prison or out on the street, they will still be the same men as they were before this all happened. Even in the slammer, they can meet and recruit others into the cause. How much more receptive must prisoners be to the siren call of liberty?

Our only danger lies in foolish precipitate action. Picking a fight with the government is the worst possible strategy. To rashly abandon our present methods, which are surely and bloodlessly moving us towards complete triumph, in favor of a stand-up fight with the government over an issue where we would be bereft of public sympathy and support would be a godsend to the forces of oppression. Nothing better could be imagined by Bill Clinton than the chance to falsely appear as the savior and defender of American rights in conflict with those gun-waving right-wing conspirators. Every possible avenue of repression and extra-constitutional powers would be utilized by him to disarm and scatter the growing forces of constitutional liberty.

Wait. Arm and wait. Vote. Indoctrinate your friends and relatives. Even the sixties radicals soon found out the futility of attempting to change American society through means of violence. Eventually they went back to school, finished their education and worked their way into positions of power and influence. Their ideas conquered where their guns couldn't. Learn from them. Ideas count. We have the best ideas of all time at our disposal and have only to broadcast them to the greatest extent while biding our time.

Our arms guarantee that we will have the time and chance to fairly present our ideas to the population at large. That is what they were designed for. Beyond that, rely on the good sense of the American people in exactly the same way as they are relying on you. If you can't trust your fellow citizen, then the concept of individual self-reliance is a false model for human happiness.

You validate the philosophical underpinnings of America's enemies every time you express contempt for your fellow citizen. It's a two way street. Sound the alarm and they will come. By dribs and drabs at first, then a trickle, eventually a mighty rushing river. In God's own good time, they will be there for you as you must now be there for them.

Attacking them, reviling them, murdering them is not the way to gain their trust. Anyone who seeks to transform this political debate into an armed struggle is no friend of the republic. Win on the field of philosophy and our guns can be safely left rusting on the mantelpiece. Win with guns what you can't gain by words and you will simply become America's new jailers, not its saviors. The only difference will be that one of you will be sitting in the tyrant's chair. "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss."

The Union forever