What I am onto is that my through my reading of history I have seen no example of government giving back the power it stole from the people (usually it steals it from them willingly sadly). The Greek republic fell from within and the Roman Republic fell from within. We are following in the footsteps of Rome. The US revolution is one of if not the only time a revolution has resulted in a limited government that espoused liberty. Many times the new government is worse than the one that was overthrown. One of a few things will possibly happen:.
1: The US will fracture into nation states (due to economic collapse) with the northeast being a socialist enclave (that will ultimately fail) and the South and Texas varying in how much liberty you have, Montana will go on its own and the west coast will probably band together as another socialist paradise. A likely scenario. Should this happen, I will be trekking it down to Texas if NH doesn't tell its socialist neighbors to FOAD and I am unable to fight as an NH citizen.
2: The US will continue its downward spiral and no one will be the wiser, thanks to the Patriot act, NDAA 12', the presidential hit list of citizens and a complicit media, those who speak up will be removed from society never to be heard of again. This is fairly likely. Most people don't have the mental drive that the Founders (or the Confederates) did to wage war in a revolution.
3: The above happens BUT enough people wake up en mass and take the government to town with the help of military defectors to retake the republic. I think this is less likely than the others. Even if this did happen, there is no guarantee the victors would be able to create a new republic in the image of the founding ideals.
4: The SHTF in the middle east or China and Japan actually go at it, being a catalyst for WWIII. The only outcome of WWIII is nuclear winter. This is sadly a likely scenario. The Fallout PC games (and the latest ones for the consoles as well) give a fair representation of life after nuclear winter if you survive.
In all of the above scenarios, you WILL need a Rifle, a Handgun, ammo and magazines for both of those weapons, and to have practiced using those weapons (on a range at the very least). You will also need food and water (the south looks better in that regard with longer growing seasons and no winter). For the rifle, an AR-15, M1A, AK-47/AK-74 (the civilian version), or FAL will work. If you are low on funds, you can pickup a surplus Russian Mosin Nagant Bolt rifle for $100-$150. Ammo is super cheap, 440 rounds for $80.
For the handgun, any of the major brands will work. I personally recommend either a Glock 17 (mags are everywhere, so aren't glock 17's) or a Ruger SR9 if money is a concern right now. You want 9mm for the handgun since the ammo is so ubiquitous. If you have the money, add a 1911 in .45 in addition to a 9mm.
The US has reached the end of the road. Neither party will turn the bus headed toward a cliff around. One of those scenarios above WILL happen, it is no longer a question of If, but When. I am not God, I cannot say when.
Is this all very pessimistic? You betcha. History shows me no other alternatives and history has a way of repeating itself. So you must prepare for the worst (one of the above happening in your lifetime) and hope (or pray depending on your persuasion) for the best (that the above does not happen in your lifetime.).
