What I was asking was, "If there was a revolution like the one that started our country, what would the armed forces' reaction be?" Would they gun down their countrymen in an attempt to "restore order" or would they realize that the country is too screwed?
It's a good question and one I've asked myself. I don't know that anyone could know the answer really. We can just speculate based on informed and uninformed opinions.
Some things that come to mind when I ponder the scenario: military members traditionally are conservative in their political views (much of my hope for the military doing the right thing rests on this fact). There are liberals and progressives in the ranks, but they're in the minority. Many of my coworkers and I would never follow an illegal or unreasonable order, but I'm sure there are others who would. Hmmm....almost back to square one.
My take: things will need to get very ugly before a significant portion of the military says enough. Leaders will put the right spin on any situation and will probably be successful up to a point. If things get really out of hand, I'm confident sensible personnel will see through it and act accordingly. So, if a revolution did occur and enough civilians joined the cause (this is a critical point), I think the military is more inclined to join them rather than fight them.