I didn't feel "picked on", Greg; it sounds like we largely agree.

So if you opine “we no longer have the fortitude as a nation to win a war”, are you willing to make the sacrifice? If not, then who exactly are you talking about? A successful war campaign comes at the collective sacrifice and the mobilization of an entire culture. Who among us is willing to do that? [I’ve looked into the military; they don’t take my kind.]

I've actually thought about stuff like this. If I didn't have a wife, and one of our cities were to get nuked, I'd probably be at the recuiter's office the next day. (I'm not sure what they'd find for an out-of-shape, uncoordinated nerd to do, but at least I'd be a warm body.) But I do have a wife, and that makes it significantly less probable. If I had kids, that probability would probably go down to zero. Yes, I know there are thousands and thousands of military men that routinely leave wives and children at home. I don't know how they do it. They've got more "fortitude" in their pinky finger than most of us do in our whole body.

Were there other sacrifices that you had in mind?