Federal Funded Militia
An essay Justin D. Lowry
Certain times may arise in a nation's history where the national defense is questioned. I believe a government-funded militia is not the answer.
When a government funds a civilian defense force, it creates a monopoly for the government. It means not only do they control the government and military, but also the populace. What better way to control a populace than to arm and brainwash half of them.
When you implement this plan, it means that since it is federally funded, it is open to indoctrination. It could also lead to invasion of privacy for citizens. Members of this militia could spy on other members, reporting what they say and do. They could also spy on private citizens and businesses. They could listen to and report what friends, family members, and neighbors say or do.
This opens the government up to a path of dictatorship. This is when the government no longer serves, but rules. If a certain branch of government has control of the militia, then it could use that power to intimidate the other branches. Let us say the president has this power, then he could use it to threaten congress and the Supreme Court. It could also use this power for a coup. Once again, the president has this power; he could use it to overthrow the other two branches. This intimidation also spreads to the populace. Just as the government fears private militias, we should fear federal militia.
We must also consider the cost of such a defense force. The United States military budget is around $500 billion dollars, imagine that cost if they funded this civilian defense force.
Then you must consider the affect on the populace. The part that is armed by the government would soon get overzealous. They would assume more duties, i.e. the spying on citizens, etc. The populace would then get very paranoid and the freedom of speech would be cut out of life. The populace would have no choice but to accept this oppression from the government. These acts would cause people to have strong distrust of the government and their future within that country. This model would be more of a disaster if it had a gun ban enforced with it.
Therefore, a government with the backing of an armed civilian militia would be a horrible blow to individual liberty. Fear would run rampant and a dark cloud would cover this country. Tyrants would be allowed to rule and the people could do nothing against them.