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Culture War Roundup for the week of May 18, 2026

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the "barely lifting a finger" was a massive money pit that could have funded all sorts of "everybody gets a pony" programa from universal healthcare to a permanent base on the moon, and the "winning" was a state where you failed to subdue your enemy.

Again in a battle between you and a lion, the lion is stronger than you. But you don't need to kill the lion you just need to not get mauled and eaten. Meanwhile the lion has to eat you.

You're on the survival side because you're weaker than the lion. The survival side is fundamentally much much much easier and there's no shortage of other wars showing that. But which side you're on to begin with is important.

Even in that framing it sounds like they have a shortage of manly men that would enable them to take decisive action.

Doubtful, because even Israel with its gleeful genocide espousing leaders can still not beat down Hamas. It's not just a matter of "they aren't manly enough to want to kill their enemies". Israel will never lose to Hamas, but the disparity from victory vs just surviving means Hamas keeps ticking on.