Is that you Yogi? ;)
This is actually an interesting question that I have been expecting to see come up. A lot of speculation has been aimed at what the National Guard or the military would do if, for example, Americans were to revolt against their government.
While the “sample size” is pretty small, it does provide some insight into the way that the military feels toward American civilians.
One respondent to this post asked about Kent State. Kent State occurred in a totally different environment and a very different set of circumstances. The Vietnam War had been so propagandized and denigrated by the media, John Kerry, Jane Fonda and Walter Cronkite as an “unpopular war” that all of the military men and women of the day were equally denigrated by the American public. It didn’t matter if a serviceman or woman had actually served in Vietnam, if they wore a uniform, they were guilty.
Today’s military enjoy the benefit of being wildly supported by the public, even though the media still despise them. As a result, the environment is different. In addition, they DO have the perspective of time to look back at what happened at Kent State and learn from it. I honestly doubt that many National Guard or active duty military would be willing to open fire on American citizens today. Too many things have changed and are different.
Is that you Yogi? ;)