This is the 64th anniversary of the Battle of Athens, Tennessee — when a group of returned WWII servicemen took their county back from a corrupt government by means of force.
Links:
Battle of Athens at Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
At Constitution.org (almost identical to the above)
Wow, could it happen again?
Good question, Devin. I hope somebody has a good answer. My guess is that the battle rose out of unusual circumstances (all those highly trained young men who had fought fascists and couldn’t see why they should kneel to homegrown toughs) and isn’t likely to be repeated even where local governments are hopelessly bad.
But that’s just my guess. And … unusual circumstances seem to be on our horizon, so who knows? If the nation started breaking up and people no longer looked to Washington, DC, for solutions to their problems, well … who knows? Could get interesting, couldn’t it?
I had first heard of this on the JPFO site a few years back. For me, it really hit close to home. I had never heard the story, yet my mother was born in Athens. I have LOTS of relatives there and go there often. On one visit, a family reunion a few years ago, I went around asking folks if they remember this event. It was actually not much more than just a local news story for the people I have talked to. They were there and remember it, but I did not get the impression that anyone understood the historical significance or its relevancy today. Athens is a very small town, that still has that feel today. From other conversations I gather that corruption in local government is still as real even there as it is in any town in the US. I really wish more people looked at this event as a valuable precedent, but my impression was the folks in Athens today are as complacent as any other place in the country. It is kind of sad really.
As I read my post, I realize I give the impression that the folks I spoke with just sat on the porch drinking ice tea watching the events unfold. I should mention that one of the relatives I had asked about the Battle of Athens was my Grandfather. He was (recently passed away) a WWII veteran who came home with two purple hearts from being wounded in a German mortar attack. He came very close to giving his life for his country, for freedom. He returned from the war and started a business in Athens which is still going strong today.
I’m adding this to the list of things that SHOULD have been taught in my history classes, but weren’t.