Between the U.S. and Israel, there's a huge gulf in unity of resolve. 

At this moment, hundreds of thousands of Israel's citizens are bracing for an all-out war in Lebanon and Gaza, and no one is coming to their rescue. 

While Israelis are philosophically split on the Gaza hostage issue, a majority believe that war with Iran and its proxies is inevitable. 

You can only wonder how Americans would react under similar circumstances. 

The New York Times's German Lopez on Sept. 24 commented:

Recent polling suggests that a small majority of Israelis back a broader war against Hezbollah.

The true existential question, though, is: "How do you negotiate with people whose only deal point is they want you dead?" 

This is the world we live in.

We don't lose wars due to a lack of money; America's defense budget, at $916 billion as of 2023, is greater than that of the next twelve countries combined.  

When we lose wars, or when wars go on interminably, we unavoidably train our citizens to believe that the requirement to fight for what is vital for our continued survival is no longer operable.  This is the result of failed leadership.

It seems the radical change of "fundamentally transforming" the U.S., first promised and brought about by President Obama, and then Joe Biden, and now Kamala Harris, undermined our country through its culture, bringing us to the level of division that is our new normal and opening us up to losing the next existential war. 

A New York Times newsletter post by David Leonhardt, dated Sept. 23, and titled "The threats we face" underscored this threat:

The first sentence of the report — released over the summer by a bipartisan, congressionally appointed commission — was blunt: "The threats the United States faces are the most serious and most challenging the nation has encountered since 1945 and include the potential for near-term major war."

The nation, the report continued, "is not prepared today."

Historically, it's generally accepted that it is usually Democrats who get us into wars and Republicans who get us out of them. 

Democrats historically accuse Republicans of being warmongers.  That thought has become institutionalized until very recently, with Democrats seemingly our new hawks.  Appearing to be a war hawk is simply a tactic to peel off more votes, serve their donor base, and ensure we continue down our current path.  As long as Democrats are in power, they don't care how the chips fall; the power elite are insulated from their own mischief.

But it has fundamentally affected our nation's fighting spirit.

America is the most pacifist that it's been since before WWII. Two long, winless wars, premised on nation-building instead of victory, have taken their toll. Opposing attitudes on engaging the world are starkly evident when parsing different social groups. Women and minorities are the most likely to reject the use of force against threats to our national interests. 

The demonization of the use of force in support of maintaining our civilization appears to many to be another extension of the white privilege arguments.  White males seem to be all that is left of old America's traditional values.  Too many other groups are ready to cede America's traditional role in stabilizing the world and standing up to threats to our existence. Given the chance, many would dismantle our power, influence, freedoms, and economic systems. 

Our enemies are clever; they do not confront us directly, at least, not yet.  Instead, they nibble away at us, sometimes pressing their advantage and then backing off.  And, don't forget, whoever is in power tailors their strategy to how the wind blows.  Our enemies have patience and a plan. We have political war and expediency. 

It's difficult to fault people who don't want their sons and daughters to serve in our military under today's virtue-signaling military with its recent record of losing wars. 

Many believe our leaders risk our fighters' lives for woke principles that see us playing defense without an actionable end game.  Inconsistent, or even worse, flawed policies and rules of engagement guarantee failure in the field all too often.  Democrats violate the first principle of armed intervention — win the fight.  If we are not willing to do that singular imperative, we have no business being there in the first place.  We show our enemies we are feckless, uncommitted, and misled.

Today, there is no one to blame except the American president and other American haters.  It is not hyperbole to say that many people in power today pay lip service to our Constitution. Therefore, we must fight and win the internal struggle to control our political and bureaucratic systems as well as our culture.  This is the enemy and the war Donald Trump must defeat first.

There will be times when America has no choice but to defend our way of life in faraway places.  It's happened before and will happen again.  The promise that any leader must keep is to tell Americans what principles we are fighting for and how we get out in the end.  This is why our Founders did not want an all-powerful central federal government like the one we have.  The government has demonstrated over and over again that it fears its citizens and does not trust them with the truth.

Without this truth, Americans intuitively know when they are being lied to and won't forget it.  I hope we once again stand up for truth and pillory those who try say otherwise.  If we wish for the support of the American people, first principles require us to be truthful and forthright to our citizens, especially in that of fidelity to those who wear the uniform and are tasked with defending our freedoms. 

Tiny Israel exemplifies what can be done with one thirtieth of our defense budget. 

At the end of the day, it's not about money but will, desire, an understanding of what's at stake, and an expectation of competency, which we are currently failing at.  Failures of leadership come from the top.

The American ideal still stands.  But for how long? 

God bless America.

Allan J. Feifer is a patriot, author, businessman, thinker, and strategist.  Read more about Allan, his background, and his ideas to create a better tomorrow at www.1plus1equals2.com

Image: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service // public domain