And using nuclear weapons to "destroy communism" was similarly hopeless, yes?
But the *threat* of using them ... well, that's a different story. Sure: if either side had launched a strike, we'd all have been fucked. And if the government comes after you with an Apache, you're similarly fucked. But to the extent that the 2nd gets exercised, it becomes much harder to, uh, pull the trigger on such an action: yes, you can change policy in subtle ways. This is true of all of the rights: if they come with an Apache to shut down your printing press, you're likely to lose the 1st (heck, an Apache can ruin a lot of your rights in a single day).
But if everyone has a printing press ...
/jordan