Originally posted on 03/23/2015:
I was guilty in 08 as well, but learned better in '12
Thankfully, it really doesn't take much time these days to figure out who to vote for; applying a "Does this person support freedom?" test disqualifies most candidates real quickly
No expiration date on the Constitution, and while it should definitely be updated, it contains processes to do it. The sad truth is people would rather subject others (and ultimately themselves) to the tyrannies of bare majorities and "re-interpret" the Constitution instead of changing it.
As for firearms protecting citizens from governments...I can think of a couple examples in recent history in which small groups of individuals caused (and continue to cause) a disproportionate amount of trouble for the largest military in the world. Those groups might not be winning in the conventional sense, but their resistance (and the fact that our continued misguided attempts to enforce our will ends up with us spending massive amounts of $$ we don't have) negatively affects not only our ability to fight, but our stability as a country. A citizenry armed even with infantry weapons serves as a check on any military that is looking to enforce it's will on a population.