Turn on the Wayback machine! Terrance mann and the second amendment.

(Editors Note: Long before we had teens telling us how dumb we are for having a second amendment, the Tradewinds own Terrance Mann wrote a series of essays on freedom. In these essays he wrote about European feudalism, and how the longbow made the king realize that maybe the Magna Carta was not such a bad idea since his subjects were suddenly armed equally to his soldiers. He left us with the thought of could the 3D printer is the next longbow? If you like this essay pick up the new Tradewinds later next week where Joe Forbes hits one out of the park regarding the current situation and the second amendment. Here is the essay).

The Forgotten American, (The Yeoman, The English longbow, and ALL THE KINGS MEN By Terrance Mann

The historical significance of the American Civil War is at best a footnote in the overall view of Western Civilization. Its importance can be summed up under two themes: 1) The American Civil War was the last conflict to end European feudalism.   2) The American Civil War was one of a numerous series of conflicts to resolve Western Civilization's continuous struggle and reconciliation of the Master/Slave relationship. The Master / Slave relationship dilemma is a relationship in which one individual serves another in an authority-exchange-structured relationship. This conflict/relationship among Western Civilization has fingerprinted Western Man with the master/slave dilemma since antiquity, and it continues to be a modern problem of  Western  Civilization. Both conclusions are admittedly tentative, considering the voluminous amounts of information on the subject of the Master/Slave Relationship and English Feudalism in the context of the American Civil War or even Western Civilization. If we limit our scope of discussion within the historical framework of the British-Anglo-African-American experience, we will discover the seemingly modern American " racial conflict" actually has its roots in the midst of Sherwood Forest and the legend of Robin in the Hood.
America, at best, is a historic outpost of the Western tradition, a place set in motion for European Capitalism and therefore, most Americans look inward within their historical experience to understand current social problems. The first modern American was living on the edge of English Feudal society within the King's forest, "outside-the-law" or as an "outlaw" with just his longbow and his wits. You and I would immediately envision a Clint Eastwood style American. A Westerner, who was was escaping the memory of the American Civil War, living by his guns and his wits as the first American living on the edge and outside of the law. If we were asked to describe an outlaw, I'm sure we would all have a same collective thought thanks to the modern and "centrally controlled" media and entertainment industry. It is also worth noting that tax evasion, treason, smuggling and dropping out are not just part of the American experience but rather ancient pastimes intrinsically tied to a larger historical tradition.
Feudalism for better or worst was an international movement crossing many national borders within Western Europe and beyond. The Feudal State among Kings, Lords, Barons and their enforcers, the Knights, all represented a spirit of an age after the collapse of the Roman Empire. The center of economic gravity within the Feudal State was the land and land ownership. Many modern theorists and pundits advocate internationalism as a coalition among nation-states which has a brief and limited objective. This type of target is more or less business as nation-states or interstate business, be it war, embargo, treaty, etc. True Internationalism represents a spirit of an age lasting many generations. Feudalism, in fact, is a spirit of an age. Constructed of a two class system represented by landowners, usually but not always. Royalty who owned the land and the Serfs who worked the lands and paid tribute for the privilege of toiling their lives away.  As in any system, there are always the outsiders. Those who choose freedom even at the risk of prison or death. In England, there arose such a man. Choosing not to be a slave for the benefit of the Royals but rather living on the edge of society outside the payment of tribute. Outside the starvation of medieval farming, making a living in the forest. The appearance of the Independent Yeoman ( in modern terms the middle-class) was the greatest threat to the economic oppression of the Feudal System.
Feudalism like many other "isms" requires enforcement by the State. The King declared the forest and all products contained within it was taxable items. Anyone not paying tribute for the woods products would be labeled an "outlaw". Of course, the Sheriff along with his knights was tasked to enforce this tax or " tribute".  For the Yeoman, the turnaround technology was the English Long Bow and armor piercing arrows. This weapon introduced the legend of Robin Hood, which was probably not a real person but rather a composite of many outlaws ranging from the 1170s to 1215.  Once the Yeoman demonstrated he could knock the Knights out of the saddle. The enforcement mechanism couldn't make a dent in reining in the "so-called" outlaws, King John decided maybe a compromise was in order. Maybe a great charter, a grand plan of rights hard won over many decades, A Magna Carta." 
The Magna Carta turned 800 years old on June the 15th of this year. One of the most important clauses of the 63 clauses which still speaks to us in the modern era is:
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.
To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.
These individual rights were hard won over many generations through the force of arms and bravery of the men behind the bow. A definite idea usually must endure many decades of negativity before it can come to light.  Unfortunately, conflict or a force of arms has to occur to bring forward a positive idea. 
Could modern America revert to a Feudal system or master/slave relationship? What if, the next financial crisis hits the US again as in 2008. The private banking system decides to nationalize all the debts to include mortgages, personal notes, state, county, and city liabilities. Private property lines evaporate. Debtor's  private property turns into leased property.  Very much like property is not privately owned but chartered in other countries.  Isn't wealth and possessions the very thing the Magna Carta and our Constitution tried to address?  What would be the enforcement mechanism in such a state? Micro Chips? Or would the amount of your check from the government be dependent on your participation in society? Could the new Longbow be 3D printers? Technology is changing faster than the government can regulate. But could America turn back to local authority system? The government may not be able to enforce its will, much like it has abdicated its authority in Colorado over marijuana and the Cliven Bundy Ranch incident. Technology may be the mechanism that ends the master/slave relationship. But it may be the mechanism that makes it possible. It is up to "the Spirit of our Age" to decide.