A disheartening new poll conducted by the Echelon Insights research institute purports to show that 72% of American voters would not be willing to volunteer to fight for their country if the United States faced a major conflict.

The poll of 1,029 likely voters, obtained by Newsweek, was conducted October 23-26, in the days following the heinous Hamas terror attacks against Israel on October 7.

That the overwhelming majority of U.S. adults apparently would not be willing to serve in the United States military if the country faced another major war is concerning to say the least, especially given extreme tensions in the Middle East and surrounding Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea, the modern day Axis of Evil.

By contrast, a Daily Mail poll conducted by J.L. Partners and released early last month found that 64% of 1,000 likely voters were willing to die defending the United States-- in the event of an invasion. However, the same poll showed that fully 30% of Americans ages 18-29 would rather surrender than die fighting for their country. Moreover, the poll found that less than half-- 46% to be exact-- of Democrats would be willing to die fighting for the U.S. Sadly, the latter figure is anything but a shock. Why would you lay down your life for a nation you despise, one peopled with oppressors and—Trump supporters?!

The U.S. military continues to be represented by those from the South and rural areas…and from families who have a history of service. This, too, is unsurprising. These areas-- and families-- tend to be more conservative and Republican. And patriotic. They are less likely to be entitled and bitter.

No sane person likes war or looks forward to dying in battle, but, as someone once noted: If you have nothing to die for, you have nothing to live for. Sometimes there has to be something greater than one’s self.

So let’s take a look at why we won’t fight.

Here are 21 reasons, some admittedly tied together.

1) Nearly all of us have become soft and spoiled by our relative wealth and ease.

2) As such, we tend to be extremely entitled.

3) Our kids have been indoctrinated, taught to disdain the country by their schools.

4) Leftist identity politics is tearing us apart. Rather than a “we are all Americans” mentality bringing us together with shared values, ownership, and pride (E pluribus unum) we have been deliberately splintered into countless groups, tribes, and classes (E unum pluribus?).

5) To that end, the media incessantly focuses on our differences and highlights any act of bigotry. Or makes one up.

6) White people/colonizers/Founders have been branded as bad, racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, etc., courtesy of The 1619 Project, CRT, the #MeToo movement, et al., ad nauseum.

7) There has been a pronounced and continuing loss of religious belief and church attendance, along with a consequent loss of Judeo-Christian values.

8) There has been a significant loss of belief in free markets and the capitalist economic system, especially among the young…also due to “institutions of higher learning.”

9) There has been a loss of belief in the benefits of freedom of speech/assembly/religion, the right to bear arms, and other rights the Founders felt were paramount—and inviolate.

10) There has been a stunning decline in Americans’ knowledge of American history. Schools no longer emphasize the teaching of history, unless it is fake history such as The 1619 Project. Many colleges no longer even offer courses on actual American History, Western Civ, or the classics.

11) There is certainly little knowledge of the history of the rest of the world as regards slavery, bigotry, racism, misogyny, the devastating results of communism, etc. And no dissemination of any of these topics.

12) There is an extreme dearth of knowledge of past societies, their forms of government, and how those governments may have aided—or more often decimated—the hopes, dreams, and well-being of the citizens over which they ruled.

13) There is a near total lack of familiarity of -- and appreciation for -- the concepts of Natural Law and Natural Rights…the defining difference between the United States and every other nation in the history of the world.

14) A growing "better dead than red" mentality (that is, an inversion of the old "better red than dead" excuse for joining communism), coupled with a belief that physical violence is always wrong. (Unless it is directed at unborn babies or Jews, of course.)

15) A pseudo form of hyper-tolerance; tolerance considered a value above all others. (Except when dealing with unborn babies or Jews.)

16) A lack of familiarity and experience with firearms, vehicles, machinery, etc., and a desire to largely stay apart from them. (Completely opposite of American youth’s attitude from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam.)

17) Helicopter parenting, which prevents kids from experimenting, “inventing,” and developing a spirit of adventure.

18) The attacks on “toxic masculinity” and the simultaneous feminization and infantilization of society.

19) Some too distracted by watching sports, streaming television shows, video games, gambling, social media, and porn to dedicate the time and energy to much of anything else.

20) Too many consumed with “self-medication” via pot, alcohol, fentanyl, opioids, etc.

21) Too many overweight and out of shape. (See 19 and 20 above.)

Is it any wonder that an ill-educated, largely ignorant, out of shape people who have been told that the U.S. is evil -- and who have lost belief in anything but themselves and their specific peer group — are reluctant to fight for their country? That they are not particularly patriotic? The question is how could it be other than thus?

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