First, I must apologize for my lack of posting. I am currently undergoing a cross-country move for my company and my life has been a little busier than usual lately.
I needed to go ahead and write this weekend, though, because of what happened this week. I heard about the Oregon Militia Standoff last weekend on Twitter, but didn't really think much of it until I listened to Jason Stapleton's podcast Monday about it.
I listened to the podcast Monday on my way home from work. When I got home, I asked my wife if she had heard about it, and she said she had seen it on Facebook but didn't really look that deep into it, so we talked about what I had heard on the podcast and did a little research to look into a few things I was still confused on. This is where the difference of opinions came in, and I must say, this time I was surprised.
My wife, whom, as you might remember, thinks that people who do drugs should go to jail "because they know they're doing something illegal," took the stance that what the militia members are doing in Oregon is good. I was completely thrown off guard, as I am more under the impression that this isn't the correct way to go about protesting anything the government has done to this point.
What surprised me most, however, was exactly how my wife came to this conclusion. She was likely on my side to begin with, but when she heard about the two ranchers who were put in jail for terrorism, her opinion swung wildly to, "well then good for the Bundy's; they're doing the right thing." How she said it, though, it came off more like, "Yeah! F*ck the government!" We even talked about how this might come to head and become an honest armed rebellion, to which she said, "Well, maybe that's what needs to happen." My jaw dropped.
Let me go back a bit and explain my point of view. I think that what the government did to the Hammond's is completely egregious and well oversteps it's bounds. I completely agree that something should be done to protest this and many other pretty awful things that the BLM does. I also agree with the militia group that there should be no land owned by the federal government. However, given all this, I do not believe that the overtaking of a federal building, even an empty one on ostensibly stolen land, is the right way to go about protesting. I mean, there is a part of me deep down that agrees with my wife's, "You go guys;" however, when I think about it logically, I can't find a rational reasoning for an armed theft of a building, even one built on stolen property by a more than intrusive government.
So, the fact is, I was completely thrown aback when my wife was all down for this. In fact, when the talk came to a potential armed rebellion, and possibly even true civil war, my wife said, "Well, wouldn't you take up arms and fight back against this horrible government?" I didn't know how to respond to that. I mean, I guess if it honestly came to that, I probably would, but the idea of living through a civil war in this day and age terrifies me.
I'd like to talk more on this topic, but I need to do a bit more research. Besides that first episode of Jason Stapleton's podcast and one other, I've done very little to look into this entire situation. I'm still under the impression that a bunch of outsiders coming to this area and potentially putting themselves and all the people who live there at risk of a federal response is a bad idea, but, as I said, deep down I'm hoping somehow I'll be convinced that their cause is a good one.
To that end, if anyone has any worthwhile podcasts or articles I could check out to help me form a more complete opinion, I would certainly appreciate it if you passed them along to me.
It may be another few weeks before I can post again as my actual relocation is taking place this coming week, but as soon as I am able I have resolved to be more consistent this year.
