There's a whole culture in the defense industry and associated bureaucracies that pushes the idea of scaring the public. They justify it with a firm internal na

There's a whole culture in the defense industry and associated bureaucracies that pushes the idea of scaring the public. They justify it with a firm internal narrative that there are huge threats out there that only the defense industry/officials really understand, and anything they can do to increase readiness is therefore justified. It just so happens that these interests align with the monetary interests in that industry, and there's a big revolving door between industry/lobbyists/officials. I had a Political Science professor in college who came from that school of IR thought who evangelized it, and then a couple of others who explicitly called it out and attacked it, which was shocking to me as a student. It feels like par for the course as a more jaded adult.