It is instructive to read this account of the battles of Lexington and Concord, even if it is from Wikipedia. It is important to understand the value of your local tribe and the commitment to arrive on the spot of contention. It is important to understand the delicate way in which the British attempted to do nothing other than confiscate the arms accumulated by the patriots.
Confusion on both sides; an unwillingness to go too far by either side; a disbelief in the actions being taken by each side all led to the start of a war. What started the war, really, was the intent of the British to execute a law. It sought to uncover and confiscate hidden caches of weapons. As one reads the account of these battles, one realizes that it was not the initial resistance that was important, but the reinforcements on both sides that escalated this abuse of government power into conflict.
Today we have an abusive federal government which has lost its understanding of itself. It has loosed itself from restraint, from reason, seeking only compliance and intolerant of legitimate demands of individual rights. As individuals, our rights are not recognized by any government body, especially the federal government that now acts to impose laws it has no legal right to issue. But, we are not safe in local governments either as the New York citizenry are now discovering.
