Well said, Peter. I gave up a long time ago in my quest to achieve neighborhood nuclear superiority. Somehow, the word "reasonable" comes to mind. I never got a machinegun, either, even though they are lawful to own in Georgia, and fun to shoot. I can't afford to feed them. It was Ok when Uncle Sugar was buying the ammo. I figured that any gun that I could hit with was a reasonable deterrent. The lowly .22 rifle would likely be the real weapon of the peasants in a resistance anyway. If I can shoot a squirrel in the head at 40 yds, I can place a shot on something bigger. Then when the oppressor falls, I have what he has. It's all in On Guerilla Warfare by Mao Tse-tung. Hopefully, the current revolution will remain at the ballot box. Those of us who have seen the carnage of war and armed revolts are not anxious to see it where we live.

The arms merchants have no motive but profit. That goes at at the macro level, too. There really is a military-industrial complex. Sometimes I think we get into unnecessary conflicts just to justify our massive defense budget. But that's another topic altogether. Certainly the world would be a better place if we could all seek to change ourselves intead of trying to impose some utopian system on others. But until that happens, weapons will remain a necessary evil.