I'll vote. I pray for peace.
But I prepare for war. No nation has stood the test of time and they seem to be speeding this one along at record speed...
Sorry if I'm not optimistic about it all.
Nations and ideas do not die. They evolve.
The 2nd Amendment's very first roots came from the 'weaponed men' and the huscarls of Anglo-Saxon England, which was one of the strongest local and maritime powers in continental Europe before they were weakened by two overwhelming Viking invasions followed by the brutal Norman sack and usurpation. The 'weaponed men' were ordinary farmers and townsmen who always owned a spear, shield, axe, and sword, and were deputized during emergencies and wartime. Under Anglo-Saxon law, ALL able bodied men were 'weaponed men'. During peacetime, they were also deputized to carry out the duties of the 'shire-reeves' to capture criminals, enforce commercial regulations, carry out public floggings and executions of condemned prisoners, etc. The word sheriff came from there. A 'reeve' was an elected official who served as a shire's representative to the king and the bearer and enforcer of the king's orders.
After William the Conqueror imported continental style feudalism into England and the country rapidly turned to flaming shit with nobles slaughtering and raping each others' families and kings thinking that they don't have to listen to anyone, it was quickly realized that only relying on a small army of zealous and narcissistic elites means you WILL get your ass kicked in a war with near peers. Therefore it was quickly realized that an armed citizenry always on standby, war and peace, ready at a moment's notice, was absolutely necessary. The Magna Carta solidified that, and then the wars with France REALLY made that a permanent fact, with the laws not just allowing, but REQUIRING every able bodied common man to be equipped with a longbow, the main battle rifle of the medieval era.
This very ideology was reborn and lived on with the Continental Army of George Washington, and the turbulent years afterward right into the present where murderous thugs are still terrorizing innocent people. However, unlike in many other countries, citizens here HAVE the ability to 'procure thy same Arms as those of the Soldier' to do the needful and protect their families and communities when crisis happens.