You're not going to ever convince people who grew up around the responsible use of legally owned firearms with that argument. Police by definition cannot be considered a "militia" because they are law enforcement arms of the state itself. And by legal definition, the National Guard is the organized half of the militia, with the rest comprised of the unorganized portion of all able-bodied males between 17 and 45 years old. We can "well regulate" both around the Constitution and the law, but the Second Amendment as written, interpreted and ruled on today absolutely grants some right to bear arms to individuals. That is not necessarily an endorsement, just a statement of legal fact that has to be acknowledged and worked with. We get nowhere trying to pretend otherwise.
And you're right, there is a perceived disrespect that goes both ways. Living in big cities, I've met countless people like myself who left rural areas for cities to escape the oppressive ignorance, lack of culture, etc., as well as people who were literally cast out of their rural communities. People face resentment when they become successful outside of the rural conservative mold in which they were raised. No doubt. And that breeds resentment in return, a desire to show those ignorant hometown folks that we can be successful despite their views.
As far as the definition of conservative, there are two conflicting points of view: conservative liberalism (aka libertarianism or republicanism); and right-wing conservatism. The latter, as you point out, befits a local culture unable to cope with unusual people or change, and thus, become reactionary to conserve whatever it is they perceive as the status quo that benefitted them (whether it actually does or not). It is only "conservative" in that it desires to conserve something at the cost of liberty and republicanism.
On perceived religious disrespect, I want to make clear that I was not defending that point of view, only pointing it out. I am with you here, and am part of the popular resistance to overreaching pastors and churches. But our resistance does breed more resentment and reactionary ideas there, something that must be acknowledged, even if we do not have any duty to back down. I see the church like a cornered animal, one that got itself into its situation by embracing power, money, right-wing politics, preaching lies and theologically unsound ideas, now facing a revolt of those who see all of that and point it out. The church power structures see increasingly fewer ways out of the situation. But it's going to fight like hell until it either dies or backs down, either of which are its ultimate fate. It's all fleeting.
Republican politicians are absolutely exploiting this and scamming their way to power. Again, you tell the poorest white man he's better than any black man, and he'll let you pick his pocket, or even turn over his money freely. But as you say, there is no true left alternative in this country, which I believe allows this exploitation to thrive.
