[airspirit]

And Ben, the reason why Japan can get away without a military to speak of, is that they have our backing. After the war we poured money into that country to rehabilitate it and try to get it back on its feet. In keeping with that disarmament, we have protected them ever since. The reason that you won't see aggression against them today is that it is widely known internationally that if you screw with them, you have a bunch of pissed off Americans to deal with. If all of the democratic nations of the world were to follow that example, including us, who would fill our shoes as the champion of Western civilization? Who would be left from stopping the North Koreans and Iraqis and radical African dictatorships and such from walking in and killing us for what we have earned? Without a military force that is ready to protect us and our allies, we'd be dead before you could blink.

The greatest lie of the left is that the military isn't necessary because we can find peaceful solutions to everything. That would be nice if it was true. The reality is that not everyone is as rational as you and me, and some would just rather walk in, kill you, rape your pet canary, drink the wine you were saving for a special occasion, put jello and ice in your computers coolant loop, and take what is yours, much like a common thug on the street. That is the reality. Anybody who believes that the West could just disarm and live in peace with the rest of the world should sit down and rethink that.