The thing you're observing is the stubbornness and arrogance derived from the rugged individualism that defines the American identity. It's not that politics is

The thing you're observing is the stubbornness and arrogance derived from the rugged individualism that defines the American identity. It's not that politics is about who is right and who is wrong, but the notion that any individual always believes they are right. It's not about being a winner or a loser, but being the good guy in your own narrative - others be damned. There's this very deep divide between that mindset that we respect as Americans and the utility of those that exemplify it being in positions of leadership in a representative democracy. The problem is that those that get elected or rise through the ranks of military and our government tend to be the exact people that shouldn't. That's not necessarily just an American thing, since selfish and proud people exist everywhere. What it leads to is not some conspiracy to keep endless wars going to stay in power. To the contrary, the endless wars are a product of the continuous flux of people who believe they are right and arrogantly refuse to believe they can be wrong at all. If you speak with those in the civil service or those educated by our thought leaders in foreign policy, a consistent notion in why we continue these pointless wars is not because we have some absolute objective. It's because we believe that if we aren't there, someone else will be, and better us than them. That is the deep arrogance and stubbornness of America at work, that we are always right, even in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. Sorry for the rambling. It's just that some of this deeply upsets me and I've had this debate many times with family members and friends who have more direct influence and experience.