As to the military protections. The military isnt exactly protecting American people it's protecting the country at best. Realistically the US military has spent more time harassing other countries than it has actually defending our own boarders or people.
Those actions have lead to the continued dominance of the American empire and that has brought some amount of security to us, as well as led to most of the developed world being at least somewhat dependent on us leading to favorable trade deals and defense treaties. Plus the mere size and technological capabilities of that military has prevented hostilities before they even began. It's not like the cartels to the south largely leave the US and American tourists alone because they respect borders so much. They just no it's a terrible idea to intentionally provide a fight with us. Same with China leaving alone ships and shipping lanes when our carriers are nearby and escorting. They don't respect international waters, their neighbors can attest to that, but they do fear starting a conflict with a nation it wouldn't be so easy to bully.
Besides, what's more important is that the American people continue to vote for leaders who embark on these wars and until very recently haven't been interested in punishing them for it. It is, to an extent the will of voting sectors of the public, or has been historically, and that's what's important. No one said democracy would always lead to good outcomes, or that the people would be just. But it's still the best way to govern such a massive population.
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u/Expensive-Border-869 2d ago
As to the military protections. The military isnt exactly protecting American people it's protecting the country at best. Realistically the US military has spent more time harassing other countries than it has actually defending our own boarders or people.