Lowest Common Denominator

 I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free 
--Proud to Be an American,
Lee Greenwood

 Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings 
--Let America be America Again,
 Langston Hughes
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What makes us Americans?

Ranger suggests the lowest common denominator is that we are all immigrants who left "The Old Country" behind when we headed for the United States. That goes for all of us, from descendants of the Green Mountain Boys to today's first generations.

Our grandparents left Europe to escape the wars that characterized the empires which ruled Western civilization. They left everything behind to escape the dissolution and ennui wrought by the wars of empire. 

So what has happened in this great nation of hope since 1914? The United States has involved itself in the wars of Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia and untold other zones. As of 2012, the U.S. had a military presence in almost 80% of the world's nations.

Our history since 1914 has been one of aligning and realigning with empires across the globe. in 2015 the U.S. is involved with Iran, North Korea, Russia and Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, et al. -- and to what purpose? Is the U.S. destined to destroy itself through continual war, as did the empires of Europe?

We need to determine what we will leave behind, and what is necessary to keep for our future welfare. Ranger's family left Slovakia and he does not think that either NATO or the United States should fight any war on behalf of the Slovaks, just as they should not for Ukraine or any other national entity.

The Slovaks are no longer his concern, nor should they or any other aforementioned nation be the concern of U.S. military policy.