We need the Arkansas State Guard

Today marks the year anniversary of the infamous January 6 Capitol Riot, an event that history might come to remember as a leadup to a second American civil war. With this very real threat looming, Arkansas needs to create a paramilitary force.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has already begun plans to create such a force for his state, setting aside $3.5 million to resurrect the Florida State Guard, which was last implemented during WWII. Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has asked on Twitter if it’s time for a “national divorce” prompting some to call her a secessionist. Her Twitter account was recently permanently suspended as well.
With Governor Asa Hutchinson on the way out the door, the next Governor of Arkansas should start thinking about the prospect of a similar reestablishment of the Arkansas State Guard. According to Act 670 of 1985 and Act 283 of 1989, the governor can reactivate the dormant branch whenever there is a need.
With two years of riots and social upheaval across our nation, I’d say that we have a need.
The difference in a modern day conflict and the one that started 160 years ago is that there will likely be no clear sides. Recent civil wars around the world have been very problematic and drawn out as militias and fringe groups can be difficult to distinguish from regular citizens. The hallmark of modern warfare is the volume of factions that often fight amongst each other for the same goals. Similar to what major American cities have faced for decades with gangs like the Bloods and Crips, but on a massive scale in all 3,006 counties from sea to shining sea.
This is why we need to do something to keep a unified Arkansas. States that have a single force keeping law and order will most likely fare better than those that splinter into city states fending for themselves. History shows time and time again that when a power vacuum is created, evil men will always sweep in to occupy that void.
In the event of another civil war, we can expect much interference from outside forces. It is now well documented that Russians and other forgeign actors will use the internet to spread BLM, Antifa, KKK and other propaganda, without much discretion for the actual message being shared. The main objective of this outside influence is to pit one side against another. And it works.
I don’t have to explain how the division in America has risen in the last decade between the left and the right, but since the pandemic began in 2020, extremists on both sides have gotten even bolder and our nation has been rocked by riots and protests.
That is why I suggest, for the sake of keeping our state safe, we institute an Arkansas State Guard. Half of America hates the other half while half of the world hates all of us. We don’t quite know how much help we could expect to receive from our allies and neighbors, so we need to take the steps now to ensure we have something in place should such a scenario occur.
In the words of DeSantis, we need a force that is “not encumbered by the federal government.”