Maybe share some lesser-thought of benefits of the US military's size... And i ended up kinda going full /r/murica.

God bless amphetamines and hyperfocus, bless them best when they come together for 'Murica

So, in response to

What I don't get about America is why can't they move money out of the bloated whale carcass that is their military?

Surely they could stand to lower their force by a couple fighter jets if it means boosting their economy massively through scientific innovation? That budget should be in the billions, not millions.

I quote, since I can't crosspost(This is a wall of text, don't mind me I'm high and feeling verbose. Just 10k characters of me high and ramblin about how fucking tits america is... and how much less tits other places are comparatively). I may have embellished in my editing to make it pretty for /murica(you guys deserve the best, being Americans of the most (and best!)American sort).

Because it ensures hegemony. Most Americans can't realize or won't admit(We're taught to try and be humble with people we're obviously in a better position than), but it is pretty amazing living in the only country that just can't be bullied in any sense.

The entire world could team up militarily, and they would get put down like unruly children by the country that will clearly be the seat of power if the world ever reaches singular government or has to represent itself to the universe as a singular entity(don't even pretend this is going to be you for any reason, any place that isn't America. Europe's older, but we have all the important cards, the power cards. Money, military, and industry. You gotta top all three of 'em to take the big dog down, and nobody's even close in the two that we stand behind these days(money and military). China and a few other places might be able to match our industrial output now(I'm not even sure about that, lotta unused factories that I see making tanks if total war ever were to happen again, and that's the only time industry=power. Seriously, not lying here: The engineer who designed the Seafood plant I manage production at told me that our factory was designed explicitly to allow the fabrication of military equipment should large-scale war be declared again. Private company with a nationalist at the helm, god I love working here.)

There might be arguments from Europe about how life is better in day to day ways like healthcare, but I remember that they enjoy that comfort behind the guarantee of our bloated military.

What would happen if gas prices got out of control in your country? Like, causing dysfunction levels of high prices. You'd have to suck it up and deal with it. We would have a national discussion about who's oil we're going to appropriate tomorrow, and then we'd go do it. And the world would watch, and hitch, but my gas prices would go down and yours will stay high, so

-shrug-

Being a citizen of the most powerful country on earth has its perks. I would be absolutely outraged if we did anything other than trim the fat of the military budget(and it could definitely stand that, believe me. The bureaucracy of the us military wastes an insane amount of money on boondoggles. No decrease in capability, though. I like us military doctrine of being capable of taking on the entire world against us.). The entire world seems to think that total war doesn't happen anymore, but I'd rather pay for a doctor than be caught with our pants down and fucking annexed or parked in a labor camp, or dead, or forced to serve some other fucking country because i thought i knew better.

War keeps happening, it's the nature of human existence. By that logic, having the biggest stick on the playground is always a worthwhile investment if you're capable of legitimately competing.

I'm getting down votes, but i'm not hearing a counterargument or any reason anything I said was wrong. It absolutely contributes to the conversation. So why the down votes?

I'm gonna chalk it up to jealousy on the part of some Europeans and just be happy that we still have haters. It has to really frustrate you to hear more about my country day to day than the one you live in. Or it is offense at the gall I have to be honest about the pros of hegemony(they're fucking great, you should try to be hegemon sometime if you wanna get slapped down, this is our shit because you don't spend money on the things that matter, only the fancy shiny things that make the people happier and get you more votes)? Is it that for every benefit that bloated military gives me those guns have to take something from someone else. Are you disgusted that I am okay with living the stolen prospects of peoples around the world(why, that's how the world works. It's how it will always work until literally every sovereign nation can agree to behave and play nice. Even one not taking part in the peace fucks it for everyone. If one guy has a crippled country, and his neighbor doesn't have an army.... well, he's about to pay a "should've spent money on fucking tanks" tax while the militarily strong nation solves their problems at their(the victim nation, or people's) expense? I pay my taxes and my government very wisely thinks that spending those on pointy sticks to stab you guys is how that money best serves me. Maybe you guys should try it out sometime. It has worked pretty mint for us so far.

Oh, you did. Didn't last long. Now you're all dinky little state-sized countries trying to have a word at the heavyweight table when they can't even bother to do what it takes to be a middleweight. You don't get to keep your clout after you get kicked out of all your territory(because you failed to govern it well, at that, in most cases).

Keep looking down your nose, but I will take it any day of the week. I can't imagine the horror of ever even visiting a country where I am not protected by the us justice system and might of military force. It would be like leaving my house naked. I would far, far rather suffer the indignity of having people profit off of my healthcare(though I'm not happy about that, reducing the military budget doesn't make this happen. I'm personally in favor of axing social security. the money I'm paying in will never be there for me anyways. Rambling, back to murica.

You might think we're crazy, hut you'll get it your place when we tell you to(because if you don't we'll park a aircraft carrier off your coast, maybe two if you think you're some kind of world power(ps: those two[of seven? Eight now? Can't remember if the new one is at sea yet] ships probably have more firepower and air force than your entire navy and air force, by the way. They're definitely not those dinky ww2 carrier looking shit your guys pretend are proper force projection tools.), and we'll tell you to shut up if we don't like the lip you have about it. And when push comes to shove, you will turn to us for assistance, and we'll say, "if we have time", because we Americans always come first to other Americans, and of course we'll sweep in and save your asses from whatever has you on your heels, because of course we have time, we have the most capable and bloated military in the world. Even Russia doesn't come close. We could fight multiple wars against world powers on fronts located on opposite sides of the world. Of course we can save you, it's what your entire national defense hinges on, lmao. Psst, that's why your politicians do what we lead with and don't put up a fight when we disagree. They know that we're allowing them to handle the government of your country not because we have to(you know, the reason you have to respect and do as the US government says... because they have to or else we'll stop doing things to make their life easier on this planet that we totally fucking control... eh, not really, actually. We don't control it all, I won't get ahead of myself, but we're certainly the only country who can single-handedly being to heel any nation in the world.. even ignoring us nobody else can claim to do that with the rest of you, that's how far off #2 is in comparison), but because it's more trouble than your resource-lacking land is worth.

If you don't think we get our money's worth out of the military, you haven't been paying attention. Every person in the western world owes his way of life to that bloated budget. We're not just getting our money's worth from it, the entirety of western europe is, the entirety of the world's oceans are getting it. Do you really think the ragtag forces of Europe could do anything against Russia if they decide to annex part of western Europe like they did Crimea? Fat chance. There's not a chance in the world of anything but defeat. But we could win that fight for you( and we would, too, even with how you snobby fucks look down your nose and talk shit about us spending on defense. We love you guys, and we forgive you for forgetting how often we pull your ass out of the fire when a fight breaks out. It's just your pretentious, better-than-everyone attitude, and you can't help that, I think. If you could, I'll just say that if you could, you would have knocked it off by now. Your politicians seem to have it down pat, never hear much lip from them unless they're talking to a home crowd. I'll just assume it's a trait you're lacking due to low breeding or something, we don't worry too much about that over here, we just teach everyone to respect their betters)at the same time we were fighting a land war in China. And still have enough of a military left to make it impossible to invade our sovereign territory back home with ease(that sweet ass geography got our back there).

We know your opinion is tainted by the fact that you have never lived a day of your life outside the protection of that military you are going on about. You don't even know what it's like to need a national defense budget to keep your borders safe. You could spend zero dollars on a military and your national defense status or level of safety would not change a bit. Because you're our friend, and we don't take kindly to people fucking with our friends. We put in the work so that people are well aware that they're not to fuck with our friends. We don't have problems with rational actors anymore, have you noticed that? Only terrorists and non-state actors? Sure, you have a military, but can it do what it needs to be able to on it's own? How many neighbors before you'd be overwhelmed if they decide tomorrow that your land looks nice? The primary guarantor of national sovereignty in western Europe isn't any nation in Europe, it's a former colony of Britain across the Atlantic ocean front them, (who they just loooooove to think they're better than despite mountains of empirical evidence that their time has passed and their child is the best in the world now. Seriously, stop trying to keep up at the dance and just be proud your baby is killin' it out there, you'll always be our special pal) When all diplomacy breaks down and it always will eventually for every country(because countries are run by humans, and humans are tribal, violent apes too smart for their own good), only one thing matters: how prepared your country is to kill the poor bastards who fight for that country. I am extremely, fanatically thankful that my country decides to set the curve on the matter of military might. It's a longshot that europe get invaded and occupied(we'd have to sit by and watch it happen, for one), but it's not even a feasible possibility for the United States. It's so impossible, only a few people have bothered to write a fictional tale about that sort of thing happening, and none of them are very good because they're so far fetched. Knowing what an interested civilian can know about our national defense(and I'm aware there's a shitload of propaganda out there that is pro-us Military, but I don't consume military sources, and I don't get TV ads beamed at me. I love my country because we're empirically the best in every category you can put in a pile and count. Been a few slips lately(, but only in categories that exist as "values" based on multiple inputs that can be massaged about for this result or that(Seriously, I'd love to see you count a goddamned happiness index and prove to me that's is what it is. It's a category designed from the ground up to have someone on top that isn't the US, because you guys got sick of looking at the number two slot first).

Just thank the Lord one day, when you're being invaded and occupied by a war that just isn't going to happen because money! and trade! and diplomacy, you savage americans!, Just thank your rulers that they aren't the blind fools that their subjects are, and that they respect and pay the US well for the security we provide you(mostly by not getting lippy when we decide to appropriate something from somewhere for our benefit(might makes right among countries. Guess who that means is right?). I get all worked up about this every time it comes up, only to remember that anyone with any power or importance agrees with my point of view, while people with your point of view.. rarely make it to positions of power, and they're never put in charge of foreign affairs for their nations

Watch the Philippines if you'd like a good example of someone being put in their place because they forgot about that giant-ass army we spend so much money on. He's you, he doesn't know how effectively we've spent that bloated budget. Cant wait to see that mad dog brought to heel, he's been running his mouth good, and they used to be such great pals with us.

Seeing him get put in place will be a pleasant reminder to the world of their place: Somewhere after #1, 'cause that's us, you guys can fight over what we don't want.

tldr: America is amazing. Despite what anyone, anywhere else might think or tell themselves in order to feel some semblance of a tease of my AMAZING NATIONALIST PRIDE(Not the kind the started ww2, though you can believe I don't mind starting a world war to keep power for us if that's what it takes... the kind that won ww2, men who believed in their country, believed that it made them a special sort of man to be from there, and acted like it was a mantle they were proud to bear. I don't hate people from anywhere, I don't think I'm better than them. I do however, know for a fact that my country is the one that is winning if there's a competition to be on top. I fear less, am influenced by global economics less, and I spend less for what I buy because my country is #1. I love that shit, fuck you if you've got a problem with it.