The Little Amendment that Failed

As I ruminate on the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America I am forced to conclude that if it was put in place, as it surely seems, as a personal right with the intent to fortify the people against domestic tyranny then it certainly seems to have failed. Given the proportion of our population that is armed, is there a more timid people? In fear of everything they resist nothing. Where 300 might have resisted 100,000 in Greece here it is inconceivable that 300,000,000 would resist 700,000 (an estimate of the domestic law enforcement population). Despite tax rates that would have set the world ablaze in times past, government intrusions far beyond the bounds envisioned during the country's formation, unaddressed and massively unpopular immigration and active and increasingly common violence against the population there is little more than the occasional harsh word, law suite or youtube video to mark any signs of resistance. The South seceded and the continent was bloodied over issues no more divisive than those we face now.

In the few acts of resistance to the Government of the United States you have the use of fertilizer, planes and powders. The weaponry that was supposed to steel the spine of the nation has failed in that purpose. While government seems to fear its citizenry, it is not through the collection of firearms that it acts out its will upon them. By the time it would get to that point it is far to late anyway...

Is it an overarching faith in government and its legitimacy that restrains the current population in ways prior populations would not? Is it the relative economic prosperity that gives more people a stake in the system as it stands? Is it a preoccupation with foreign affairs that has kept the domestic scene so tranquil? Is it simply a level of passivity in the general population that exceeds the vision of those who authored the amendment, and if so, what accounts for the passivity of this population group compared to the French, early Americans and the Eastern Bloc countries?