'We all know about it, unlike your scenario of secret detentions. '
People here would know if they are interested and inquiring. These policies are not hidden or secret. "People" seem to want to know what the Kardashians are thinking more than what affects their freedoms.
'Bradley Manning and everyone else already knew that if you have access to military secrets as part of your job you get in a lot of trouble if you leak them....' and yet they harass a man who has yet to be convicted of anything - why is that? Aren't people supposed to be innocent until proven guilty (even if they work in the military)? Can justice be done if the accused is treated badly by those in authority for months on end, particularly those with psych problems? Isn't the government accountable to the people for the policies they enact and condone?
'Most people don't think...'
..which is exactly my point. If you can lead the majority of people so they are convinced that they need take no action or that they are justified in a position consistent with the desires of the government - then they have won. Dissident talk is like an inoculation - it allows the illusion of freedom while glossing over the fact that actual changes to the government are difficult. You would only get significant change if a critical mass of people act. If you can prevent that then they have won. Look at way global warming is handled in the USA and you see it in action.
'It is clearly impossible to be a traitor to a country of which you are not a citizen....' so you don't like me using - cast as a traitor - how do they see him then - a terrorist? An enemy of the USA? Not kindly in any event or are you arguing to the opposite?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange Calls for Assange's assassination. .
A car is not designed to inflict harm. That is the difference in this metaphor. Just owning a vehicle that isn't road worthy isn't a crime because it poses no threat. The moment it's driven it is a threat, which is why that is not legal (apart from revenue razing of course)).
This description is a false dichotomy. You don't prevent all crime if you arm the citizens, you simply change the nature of it. It is not that her ability to defend herself was removed if she didn't have a gun (well except of course in the USA where there are guns everywhere and you would need it to be on a level playing field). It is that, if a person is lead to believe that societies systems will protect them when they might not. If you arm the victims you, simply arm the attackers. It is the nature of escalation. You noted before no system is perfect. People should be aware that systems fail. That they will be put in situations upon which they themselves will have to have skill to prevail. That is a big commitment of time and resources and in most civilized locations it seems unwarranted. Having a gun doesn't remove that requirement. You might be lucky and meet a stupid unsophisticated attacker and win with your gun. You might be unlucky and have them take you gun from you and use it against you. And once they have that gun - how easy is it for them to prevail against the next victim? Crime is always ugly and messy in this regard. There is no "magic bullet" that will prevent that. To be lulled into the complacent sense of safety I think is the true negligence but it is one that I am myself guilty of.
And, by the way, if this is the reasoning - why refer to the second amendment at all
As I said in my original post - the process of removing guns from the social environment is one that calms the situation over time. However, it must be pursued without creating the black market version of gun purchase where citizens condone access to inappropriate weapons, otherwise you simply repeat the mistakes of the prohibition of alcohol. It is not simple and I see no quick solution to it.