I was talking to BVBigBro a few weeks ago and he remarked that he thought that the rumored proposal to confiscate 401Ks and IRAs would result in revolution. I disagree, but it got to me to wondering what government actions would actually cause Americans to rise up.

To be honest, I'm not sure that anything would cause a revolution anymore. We're all so willing to let our government take away our rights and property little bit by little bit:

• The Supreme Court ruled that the government could take away your home and give to someone else and we didn't revolt.
• The state of Texas took 401 kids away from their wacky religious parents and the rest of us just chalked it up to the parents being wacky & religious
• Wisconsinites are ready and willing to give up their 4th Amendment rights to protect themselves from drunk drivers
• Schools are full of vague and restrictive speech codes that people put up with in order to avoid being "offensive"
• Simply put, every day, the government takes our money and gives it to other people

Oh sure, we might get worked up about some of those things, but not enough people actually want to do anything about it. If it doesn't personally hurt us or people like us, we don't really care all that much. We look at the benefits specific situations of government intrusion (protecting kids from wacky parents or roads from drunk drivers) without worrying about the reach of government itself.

So, to get back to the original question, what would it take to spark a revolution? The only thing I can think of is a draft. It would touch enough people and cause enough pain that we might get fed up. Maybe.

What do you think? Am I underestimating or overestimating the complacency of the American people?