Rule Number One:

Rule Number One: There are no rules.

This post was inspired by Radio's response to Everyday Prepper and "183 Times" from I Drive My Tractor In Pearls.

There was a time when men of great intellect sought to establish a nation built upon the rule of law. Almost since this great nation's inception, some people began to realize that they didn't have to follow the rules. The rules were for other people.

There was a time in the world when warfare was codified and rules were laid down that all participants were expected to abide by. The Geneva Conventions are generally cited, but the rules by which warfare would be conducted stretch further back in time. Deuteronomy 20:19, in the Old Testament, sets the limits for collateral and environmental damage: "When thou hast besieged a city a long time, and hath compassed it with bulwarks to take it, thou shalt not cut down the trees that may be eaten of, neither shalt thou spoil the country round about with axes: for it is a tree, and not a man, neither can it increase the number of them that fight against thee."

Not many armies through the ages paid heed to those words. There were times that the rate of disease and death in the camps were just as bad or worse than in the besieged city. What is a rule if you do not follow it?

In the American War for Independence, the British forces bitterly complained about the colonists' proclivities for engaging in guerilla style warfare. The British expected opposing forces to march out into open field and fire upon each other until one line broke. The colonists took to hiding behind stone walls, tree lines, and inside barns. There they could fire upon marching lines of British soldiers with near impunity. After a quick strike, the colonists would simply melt into the wilderness, which they knew better than the British.

The British also complained about the colonist's tactics of decapitating a military force by targeting the officers. In 1778, the British began impressment of regular army troops, and the colonists learned that by eliminating the officers, the regular troops would withdraw from the engagement.

Two additional complaints were the refusal to bear a standard into battle, and to wear a uniform.

In European style warfare, fixed lines, and the safety of officers were the rules. Military forces were expected to bear a standard, and wear a recognizable uniform to identify soldiers.

The colonists did not abide by those rules. Those were the rules for the Redcoats. So, in effect, there were no rules.

Today, our troops are scattered around the world, and frequently they are facing opponents who engage in similar tactics. In other words, they don't obey the rules.

Our rules dictate blue water navies, artillery engagements, armor columns slugging it out alongside infantry clashes while fighters duel above and long range bombers drop thousand pound death notices on the cities below. Conversely, the opponents hide within a larger civilian population, they use improvised munitions which are frequently detonated from a safe distance away, they snipe and move, they refuse to wear a uniform. After a quick strike, they melt away into a wilderness of sand and concrete which they know better than any American soldier.

Our government's response has been to declare them "enemy combatants", not soldiers, and therefore not subject to the Geneva Conventions. These people have been often subjected to torture, and have been held without trial. Even the British treated captured colonials as Prisoners Of War. If the British had declared them traitors, they would have been hanged. These very actions go against everything this country once stood for. In other words, the rules are on paper, but aren't being followed. In short, there are no rules.

These tactics that are being employed against "enemy combatants" have started to migrate into larger society. "No Knock Raids", "Warrantless Searches", "Checkpoints", "Ad-hoc Gun Seizures" and other obtrusive and heavy handed tactics are just the beginning. The police have begun to realize that rules are for other people.

The public is supposed to be protected by the rules contained within the Founding Documents. Public servants take an oath to defend the rules contained within the documents, and most do not. Those rules are for other people. There are no rules.

Eventually, the public is going to wake up. They will realize what lone gunmen, mobs, and rioters have realized for a very long time. The rules only work when everyone agrees to play by them.

Once the public at large figures out that there are no rules, those who were charged with defending the rules will find out what it means when there are no rules.