>>1250604Ameri-fag here, the thing about our disproportionate military is that it also drives technology in many STEM fields, as well as provides an economic backbone that you won't find in many place.
For instance, I live near Ft. Worth, TX, where we have Lockheed, Boeing, and Bell Helicopter all nearby. This means that in 2008, when the US economy shat itself, we stayed pretty stable. These jobs also employ vast amounts of highly skilled people, that also utilize tech and skills that assist in architecture, medical fields, small businesses. They do a lot more than just blow stuff up, and help with tuition for employees to continue going to school, making their employees even MORE useful.
And, we have become the world police for a reason. Yes, we over-extend often, but imagine you're in a knife-fight with a guy, and you've bloodied him pretty bad. You go for a finishing blow, and a guy you just hung out with at the bar that you don't know that well gets in between you, and says he's had enough. Other guy gets away, and now hates you and tells all his buddies about you. So, now you look like an asshole, and a bunch of people are pissed at you, because you couldn't finish the job. I actually like Machiavelli's sarcasm when he claimed "that if an injury must be done to an adversary, let it be so severe that there is no risk of reprisal." If we go into a nation to stop a despot, let's finish the job. The global community is doing a disservice by limiting measures of force, beyond protecting civilians. Level the military strongholds, and prevent the enemy from raising arms for a few decades, and they'll change dramatically. Germany and Japan are great examples, up until Japan started rebuilding to take on China.
