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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   7772 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 16, 2026

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The usual reasons.

"We are doing this now because someone has to do it eventually and I'm left holding the bag and not a coward." Not inspiring.

"Personally, I hate watching civilians die." Not his vibe - and a huge leverage point with the school bombing.

"Complicated rambling about missile and drone production rates vs. interceptor costs" ...not going to work.

A different president might be able to convey the meaning without the specifics but Trump is not that guy, and critically the media and social environment is so relentlessly criticizing that he isn't incentivized in any way to try.

The vast majority of the military and the executive are not stupid, you see plenty of people saying "wow why did they do this when they don't have a plan for Hormuz" of course they have a plan. It's not a good one because there aren't any good plans, and doing nothing was a plan with risks of its own. The public does not tolerate those kinds of discussions though.

"We are doing this now because someone has to do it eventually and I'm left holding the bag and not a coward." Not inspiring.

I find this pretty inspiring, to be honest.

I think society would be better served with more people having a positive reaction to "we do this because it is hard and necessary, so that people in the future do not suffer."

We do not live in that society.

This felt like what the justification for the Afghan withdrawal was and I loved it. I agree it's inspiring.

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