Yup. And the battle of ideas is never the "end all," either. Power flows from the barrel of a gun; and whoever has superior force will always prevail in the end.
The power of government arsenals is overwhelming and growing more so. Our chances are strictly limited by whether the American soldier will fire on Americans. History shows us that is a very slim hope.
Chairman Mao’s adage ignores the spiritual element in history not to mention the fact that Marxism (Marxism-Leninism, Maoism) is an idea.