[aaronblohowiak]

> relatively peaceful

[citation needed]

The US has seldom had a decade of peace in its history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_the_United_...

[poof131]

The US Military has seldom had a decade of peace, New York and San Francisco have had centuries.

[sp332]

Well, SF has had about 1 century.

[barce]

There are bullet-ridden and blood-stained flags in San Francisco's City Hall that beg to differ and were carried by this city's sons to different wars and conflicts. I cried when I first saw them.

[simoncion]

This is a gentle reminder that when someone says "Place X has known peace for period Y" they mean "There has been no significant military action in Place X for period Y.". People from Place X can engage in military action in other places during period Y, but Place X is still in a period of peace.

[sp332]

Well my City Hall has blood-stained flags too, they're from the Civil War http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201312... which didn't happen anywhere around here. I wouldn't say NH was "at peace" during the civil war though.

[secstate]

Hah, well I did qualify it with a weasel word, so I didn't think I needed an example.

But I would note that we're likely at least as peaceful as the ancient empires of Greece and Rome, and probably "relatively" more peaceful than either.

Civilian police forces are born out of a commercialization of violence and an overseer to curb abuse. While there are rampant examples of the oversight failing (L.A. in the 90s, Seattle drones, or good old fashioned SWAT team overuse), by and large, I'd argue I'm living a pretty privileged and safe life here in the U.S. right now.