Would you abandon your country if it was at war?

[Selastan]

August 24, 1814.... rings a bell?

They still lost, didn't they? Burning down the White House is one victory in a war they lost. They then got killed by a tornado.

[breadisfunny]

I've seen you staring at that young draenei wench's tail the other day.

i was fantasizing about how i was going to cook it.

[Deleted]

Depending on what kind of war, I think I'd take the easy way out and shoot myself before going through the shitstorm people went through in WW2

[Lady Dragonheart]

It depends on with who and why my country is at war.

If I don't believe in the nature of the war, I plainly won't support it.

[Kallisto]

As an American, I have to stay and fight. Anything else would be just...I don't know what to say. Back in the late 18th century, A few settlers with guns and an unwillingness to move forced the unconditional surrender of the most powerful empire the world has ever seen.

Back in the late 18th Century the colonists numbered 2.5 million people.

1/3 of that supported independence and a good number had weapons
1/3 supported the british
1/3 could not care less.

British army at the time numbered world wide. 90k
During the height of the war Britain deployed 40k to the Colonies.
At the same time the bulk of British forces were deployed fighting the Martha confederacy in India. So even on day 1 of the war of independence Britain was already in another war.

Then of course comes the French. Who had even then a superior army, standing at over 400k (largest and best equipped in the world), a better navy than Britain. Also was supplying the colonists with 90% of their materials on day 1 of the war. Formally declaring war on Britain in 1778 even though they had already been taking part in everything since 1775. After that the French did all the leg work. Then also came along Spain who had all of the American mainland south of the colonial regions outside of Brazil, bigger empire and slightly more powerful than Britain, lastly the Dutch also got involved on the colonist side, their navy while small was the best trained in the world, could take out ones larger than them.

This whole "Colonists took on the biggest baddest sole superpower and won." Is nothing but a myth that needs to die. What it really was actually was Goliath vs David + Goliath's biggest brother + Goliath's slightly bigger brother + Goliath's slightly smaller but very nimble and strong brother + David's cousin from the Indian subcontinent.

As for the whole would I stay or leave? It would be what is best for me and family. I might even take the third option of helping whoever is fighting Britain if it meant my family and myself would be in a better position then with the current Britain.

They still lost, didn't they? Burning down the White House is one victory in a war they lost. They then got killed by a tornado.

Winning one battle after the war (New Orleans) does not give you a war win.

US Objectives:
Stop impressment (Didn't matter, war with France ended. Didn't need British Sailors who broke their contract on our boats anymore.)
Take Canada. (Oh look still there)

British Objectives.

Keep pre war status quo on land... Oh look Britain did. It won most battles as well with one hand and a leg tied behind its back. This is clearly a military victory. Britain had no desire to take land from the US or retake the US. Too much trouble than it is worth. If Britain wanted to continue, it could have and even then it would have meant more and more veterans from the Napoleonic wars with more and more Napoleonic war generals giving the US no chance. Since it would have been both fists, full blockade and New England ceding from the USA.

[Deleted]

They still lost, didn't they? Burning down the White House is one victory in a war they lost. They then got killed by a tornado.

Nah, it was a British victory.
I don't remember you ever annexing Canada... :P

[Quass]

[Oevaag]

No matter what I feel, America>Religion. If you feel like our government and your religion disagree and you would rather side with your religion, then you should leave. Not saying what my religion is, but rarely does it conflict with my government. Should it, I would put my personal feelings aside and still follow my government. We are a land where anyone is free to choose whatever religion they want, and to do so you are expected to put your religion aside so that all may be treated equally.

So, to expand this. If you were Syrian, you'd be fighting along side Assad. As an American you'd be ok with your president bombing the crap out of say, Salt Lake City while keeping all the residents within the city limits and leave the population to starve.

[Mihalik]

August 24, 1814.... rings a bell?

Let's be honest. It wasn't a fair fight. The Brits staffed their Redcoats with Canadians. You can't beat those Northern savages. That's why Scott "The Builder" Walker Stark in infinite foresight wants to build a wall. He will be the first Lord Commander of the Canadian Watch.

[breadisfunny]

scott "the builder" walker.....sounds like a wrestling name.

[Plutarch78]

So with all the Syria/refugee talk on this forum I'm curious how many here would be like the refugees and flee their home or stay and fight for it. Me personally if war broke out in the US I would stay and fight for my home. I can understand some people here have families and would argue that where ever they are is home but lets not get into that. Maybe I just see this from a single males perspective but if some one/country/radical group came here and started shit I would be in the thick of it to keep what I call home.

Thoughts agree or disagree I'd like to see how others out there think when it comes to their homeland.

Let me also be clear I'm in no way "America FUCK YEA!!" but I damn sure dont like the idea of being forced out of my home or land and would use all my beautiful legal American guns to say fuck you to who ever tried.

With so many gun owners and a roughly half a trillion dollar defense budget I probably wouldn't have to do anything except get on my rooftop and eat some popcorn while watching the short-lived battles below.

[Adam Jensen]

It would depend on the type of war.

If the Canadians (and I know they're planning something) invaded, I'd stay and defend the nation. But if the US went all Hitler 2.0 and tried to take over the world and kill all the undesirable races and all sorts of terrible and immoral shit, I'd leave.

Fortunately, the US is probably not gonna go Hitler 2.0 any time soon.

[Thrif]

That's extremely dependant on who the invaders are, what the odds are, if my friends/family would be able to flee as well, etc.

Like, I wouldn't take up a suicide mission against an all-powerful army just because I love my country so huggily muggily much. But if we were stood a fair chance of victory, if everyone did their part, and it was a real threat to the country as a whole and the people I care about, then obviously I'd do my part.

[breadisfunny]

With so many gun owners and a roughly half a trillion dollar defense budget I probably wouldn't have to do anything except get on my rooftop and eat some popcorn while watching the short-lived battles below.

money doesn't fix everything. you can have the most powerful military and it will still fail if incompetently managed or led.
also anyone remember the vietnam war?
if the enemy knows where to strike they can easily cripple your infrastructure.
good luck keeping the trains running when the stock market's down or the banks all show 0 balances because of malicious government backed viruses.

[Deleted]

Sure, I'm not staying here if it's a war.

[talwynn]

I live in the US. The US has been at war for 222 of the 239 years of its existence. War doesn't bother me. The thing that would make me run away from my country is allowing something truly idiotic to happen (beyond the normal) like electing a self-serving moron like Donald Trump.

[Selastan]

Back in the late 18th Century the colonists numbered 2.5 million people.

1/3 of that supported independence and a good number had weapons
1/3 supported the british
1/3 could not care less.

British army at the time numbered world wide. 90k
During the height of the war Britain deployed 40k to the Colonies.
At the same time the bulk of British forces were deployed fighting the Martha confederacy in India. So even on day 1 of the war of independence Britain was already in another war.

Then of course comes the French. Who had even then a superior army, standing at over 400k (largest and best equipped in the world), a better navy than Britain. Also was supplying the colonists with 90% of their materials on day 1 of the war. Formally declaring war on Britain in 1778 even though they had already been taking part in everything since 1775. After that the French did all the leg work. Then also came along Spain who had all of the American mainland south of the colonial regions outside of Brazil, bigger empire and slightly more powerful than Britain, lastly the Dutch also got involved on the colonist side, their navy while small was the best trained in the world, could take out ones larger than them.

This whole "Colonists took on the biggest baddest sole superpower and won." Is nothing but a myth that needs to die. What it really was actually was Goliath vs David + Goliath's biggest brother + Goliath's slightly bigger brother + Goliath's slightly smaller but very nimble and strong brother + David's cousin from the Indian subcontinent.

As for the whole would I stay or leave? It would be what is best for me and family. I might even take the third option of helping whoever is fighting Britain if it meant my family and myself would be in a better position then with the current Britain.

Okay, even if you look at it that way, look at it now. A ragtag group of armed citizens still defeated the best the Crown had to offer, from the brilliant Cornwallis to the brutal Tarlton. Even if they were split, we were at huge disadvantage. Now WE are the worlds greatest superpower, and we still are as willing to fight, better armed, more populous, and no matter who invades us, we will be the bigger dog, even without our armed citizens fighting back at every single town. Now we are BOTH the mighty army and the crafty militia. We might not even need to fight should we be attacked, but I know I will. Because I know how important a simple citizen with a gun can be.

[Wildtree]

They still lost, didn't they? Burning down the White House is one victory in a war they lost. They then got killed by a tornado.

No, they did not lose.... It ended in a treaty.
But you can never call it a victory, when your very country attacks in the North, gets thrown back so far, that you end up with your capital city ablaze.


Facts need to be considered when you look at historic events.
And the facts are that the USA as we know it today would not exist, if it wasn't for France. I am not talking about the aid the Revolution received from France. No, I am talking about the events that took place at the (at the time) most crucially important part of the world, Europe.
Coincidentally this is what happened in Europe during the early era of the USA..
Europe was in unrest, the Crown needed every resources to stay strong there. That resulted in the victory of the Revolution. The Brits didn't want to waste anymore money. But they would have been far from defeated. No one with a little knowledge of history would ever claim that the British Empire was defeated. It simply lost interest in the colonies. Deemed them not worth the efforts.
Then came the war of 1812.....
The USA believed to use the advantage of the Crown being distracted, believing the Brits are weak currently.. Why?
Because there was a huge war going on in Europe. 1803 - 1815, Napoleon wiped the floor with territory after territory.
Now if you compare the dates.. 1812 - 1815. The British Empire was powerful enough to kick the American's ass AND Napoleon's ass at the same time. Imagine what would have become of the colonies, if there would not have been the French Revolution, that lead to Napoleon's rise, the wars in Europe.
The US are what they are today.. But take off the rose tinted glasses.... It exists, because the Brits allowed it to exist.

[Oevaag]

With so many gun owners and a roughly half a trillion dollar defense budget I probably wouldn't have to do anything except get on my rooftop and eat some popcorn while watching the short-lived battles below.

Again, for the Syrian comparison to be fair. Aggressor = US Government.

[Kivimetsan]

Id go full Benjamin Martin on anyone trying to invade because losing a war for your home would make life meaningless. Whats the point being a slave for some other people to enjoy freedom at your expense.