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> National defence concerns Honest question. Do US citizens honestly think National Defence os a top priority above all else? If so, why? The reason I ask is

> National defence concerns Honest question. Do US citizens honestly think National Defence os a top priority above all else? If so, why? The reason I ask is because its quite rare to find any other democratic country, barring Israel, that mentions national defence in almost every discussion about most things

Hnrobert42 5y ago
Because they don’t have to as long as they are under the US defense umbrella.
analognoise 5y ago
Above all else? No, but it's definitely a top priority.
shepherdjerred 5y ago
Other democratic countries don't have the influence and power that the United States does (for better or worse). Consider the Cold War (which really wasn't that long ago) where there was a real possibility of the destruction of the country, or 9/11 where the country banded together to fight a perceived threat. Keeping the United States as a top world power is obviously going to be of interest to Americans, and national defense is a part of that.
ajmadesc 5y ago
Those democracies are protectorates
logicalmonster 5y ago
> Do US citizens honestly think National Defence os a top priority above all else? If so, why? Ultimately, being able to guarantee that you can defend yourself ensures you can seek out your other values in life, whatever they might be. In fact, I'd argue that many countries have the privilege to not even think about their national defense too much because they rely on American military guarantees for protecting their borders and trade. Americans certainly do quibble about the size and scale of the American military machine and its role in the world though. This is a very frequent topic of discussion in political discussions with a number of friends.
alexashka 5y ago
The greater the military budget, the more you have to justify it.
Darvokis 5y ago
Go back a hundred years and "national defense" was just a part of European culture. What's changed is that in the post-World War period, Europe was necessarily domesticated (aside from the UK and France) and made to be solely dependent on the US for all geopolitical and defense needs. The UK absolutely still talks about national defense issues. Germany chooses to ignore the issue because for the past 70 years, the US was tasked with dealing with these pesky minor details and Germany could pretend that any global geopolitical issues could be solved with pacifism and trade deals.
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Hnrobert42 5y ago

Because they don’t have to as long as they are under the US defense umbrella.

analognoise 5y ago

Above all else? No, but it's definitely a top priority.

shepherdjerred 5y ago

Other democratic countries don't have the influence and power that the United States does (for better or worse). Consider the Cold War (which really wasn't that long ago) where there was a real possibility of the destruction of the country, or 9/11 where the country banded together to fight a perceived threat. Keeping the United States as a top world power is obviously going to be of interest to Americans, and national defense is a part of that.

ajmadesc 5y ago

Those democracies are protectorates

logicalmonster 5y ago

> Do US citizens honestly think National Defence os a top priority above all else? If so, why? Ultimately, being able to guarantee that you can defend yourself ensures you can seek out your other values in life, whatever they might be. In fact, I'd argue that many countries have the privilege to not even think about their national defense too much because they rely on American military guarantees for protecting their borders and trade. Americans certainly do quibble about the size and scale of the American military machine and its role in the world though. This is a very frequent topic of discussion in political discussions with a number of friends.

alexashka 5y ago

The greater the military budget, the more you have to justify it.

Darvokis 5y ago

Go back a hundred years and "national defense" was just a part of European culture. What's changed is that in the post-World War period, Europe was necessarily domesticated (aside from the UK and France) and made to be solely dependent on the US for all geopolitical and defense needs. The UK absolutely still talks about national defense issues. Germany chooses to ignore the issue because for the past 70 years, the US was tasked with dealing with these pesky minor details and Germany could pretend that any global geopolitical issues could be solved with pacifism and trade deals.

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