This is very long, but it has a point to it. I hope I’m able to make it.
There was a video posted recently called “The Most Dangerous Enemy in a Civil War" in which a guy proceeded to tell us, in colorful language, how doomed we were in the event of a civil war. He claims that the average citizens would be going up against “battle-hardened MF'rs" with all the latest and greatest battle toys.
I agree with the guy to a certain extent, but he kind of gives me the impression that he’s a bit of a defeatist. He’s talking down a little bit to people that he figures don’t have the experience he claims to have and therefore, assumes that they have little chance.
I want to make a quick observation here. Regardless of the title of his video, he’s not necessarily talking about civil war. I explained this in detail several months ago. He’s likely referring to rebellion, or revolution during which citizens will be fighting one or more factions of some level of government, presumably the federal government. A true civil war is when 2 or more groups of civilians fight each other for control over or independence from, another group. Some faction of the state may also be involved.
Be that as it may, there are many cases throughout history where the underdog must not have seen his video and the opposite of his assumption took place.
Take the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, for instance. This battle was fought by some of the bravest men that ever lived. King Leonidas initially had 7000 soldiers that he pitted against a force over TWENTY TIMES bigger than his. I’ll shorten this very long, interesting story up quite a bit and tell you that before it was all over, Leonidas sent most of what was left of his troops home and kept 300 warriors with him. Final tally – 4000 Spartan casualties; 20,000 Persian army casualties. This was made possible by Leonidas’ soldiers having superior training and using a choke point in the terrain as a force multiplier. Unfortunately, Leonidas and all his men were eventually killed but the damage they inflicted to the opposition was monumental.
As a side note, there were many memorable quotes attributed to King Leonidas. Without a doubt, my 3 favorites were:
1. When Leonidas went off to fight the Battle of Thermopylae, his wife asked him, “What am I to do if you do not return?” He replied, “Marry a good man and have good children.” He didn’t tell her, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back.” He was a realist and knew very well that he may not return and wanted her to continue a happy, productive life.
2. This is is a very long quote and I don’t remember all of it but the most significant part went something like this, “…for me to die for Greece is better than to be the sole ruler over all the people there” or something like that. Fearless. He did not fear giving his life for his people and his country. He considered that outcome to be more honorable.
3. The last one of my favorites is one you should all know. When the Persian emissary delivered the message from his commander for Leonidas to lay down his arms, Leonidas simply said, “Molon Labe!”. Directly translated, that means “come take”, or “come and get them!”
I’m going to slip one more in here, just because I love it…
One of Leonidas’ soldiers was told by the enemy that there would be so many arrows headed their way that they would “darken the sun”. The soldier said, “All the better. Then we may fight our battle in the shade!”
Now, let’s look at the 1st American Revolution. The largest, most disciplined, well-funded military in the history of the world got their a$$e$ handed to them by a bunch of rag-tag farmers and other civilians with no formal training in the beginning and very little throughout the war. It’s interesting to note that an estimated 3% of the population of the colonies made up nearly the entire colonial fighting force. The Continental Army proved themselves in battle and after a couple years, other countries came to the aid of the about-to-be created, United States of America.
The colonists resisted fighting back even though some of their wives and daughters had been raped, homes had been taken over or destroyed and some of the colonists were even killed. But they resisted fighting back to a large degree. Finally, they had had enough. On 19 April, 1775, the Revolutionary War officially kicked off at Lexington and Concord. What started it? The Brits were rounding up guns and powder and farmers were having none of it.
Afghanistan, late 70’s. After 10 years of fighting, the technologically advanced Russians suffered some pretty heavy losses, primarily inflicted by people riding horses and shooting homemade guns.
Gorbachev, with his butt in his hands, gave up trying to install communism in Afghanistan and went home in the late 80’s.
Let’s give another freedom fighter their due recognition… Israel. Israel has wanted nothing more than to be left alone to enjoy their way of life and the practice of their religion. For nearly 80 years, since Israel declared their independence, they have fiercely fought multiple larger countries that sought to destroy them, against what must have seemed like insurmountable odds at times. Israel is still there...
There are others but these were some of the most notable.
The point that I am trying to make here, is that in each of these cases, victory seemed distant and unlikely, considering the odds. But in each event, this minor detail did not deter the freedom fighters. They were fighting for their homes and countries and more importantly, their freedom. They had something to fight for. It was important enough to them that each man, in each case, fought with the savagery of multiple men, because losing was not in their vocabulary. It was unacceptable.
NEVER GIVE UP AND NEVER SURRENDER!
The video mentioned above is at the link below. Be advised that it contains unnecessary, vulgar language but makes a few interesting points…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cfJnylqNAoo&si=pI85XpBGagXCKgHM