For the first time in my life, America is engaged in a long-term, large-scale war. 

And despite the consistent propaganda I grew up with, lauding the American military as the strongest, most powerful freedom-fighting force in history, the reality of an ongoing conflict has been, to put it bluntly, stupid.

This characterization can be evidenced through two realities surrounding America and Israel’s campaign of regime change in Iran: the decision-making process and its results, and the American public’s reaction. 

The War Itself

It is important to preface any discussion of this war by stating that there never has been, nor will there be, a valid justification for this form of military aggression. Iran is a sovereign nation, one that has its issues domestically, but none rising to a level justifying the complete dismantling of the state. 

Current Israeli leaders and the Trump administration began justifying this escalation by attempting to make an argument for Iranian civil liberties, but even those were minimal compared to past leaders. Over the past few weeks, they’ve pretty much dropped those claims entirely. 

The heads of both governments are now openly stating what many, such as myself, have believed for years: they want to decapitate the Iranian regime simply because of their position as an anti-Israel foreign adversary, and to take control of the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves and fourth-largest crude oil reserves. 

But the United States and Israel have had anti-Iranian foreign policy agendas, save for a brief period under the Obama administration, for over 45 years, since the overthrow of the Western-backed Shah in favor of the Ayatollahs in 1979. 

Why was it, in this tumultuous time for the American economy, that a President finally pulled the trigger on a prolonged war?

This is where we enter the realm of stupidity and the unique predicament the Trump administration finds itself in. 

In the past, a complex strategy of crippling the Iranian economy was largely agreed upon by both the Israelis and Americans, but the appetite for war was strictly held by the government in Tel Aviv.

No American President, not Bush, not Obama, Clinton or even Trump in his first term, was interested in a long-term conflict. It was for this reason that, despite our unconditional support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, the notion of Israeli control over the entirety of American Middle Eastern foreign policy was a flawed one. 

It was an understandable but incorrect assessment, until now. Especially considering the US’s unwillingness to keep Israel from destroying the recent ceasefire agreement.

After a month of back-and-forth strikes, the United States military finds itself in a precarious position. Despite the murders of several high-profile officials, including the long-time Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, the Iranian state has remained intact. 

In addition to their survival, the Americans have been dealt significant blows to their military personnel. More importantly, the global energy market, and subsequently, the entire global economy, is on the brink of crisis due to the key act of this conflict thus far, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) closure of the Strait of Hormuz crossing. 

Over 20% of the world’s global oil and gas supplies pass through the strait. Foreign and domestic gas prices are skyrocketing, and the IRGC has been able to repel several attempts by American naval personnel to end the blockade. 

All things considered, especially the spending disparity between the two sides, we are losing this war… badly.

As openly admitted by figures such as Marco Rubio, the largest military on Earth was goaded by a suicidal, blood thirsty foreign actor, into a predictable outcome.

It easily explains why previous administrations drew the line at a direct, prolonged conflict. But in our unserious timeline, a small country of five million people is directly controlling US decision-making in the Middle East. 

It began with the 12-day war, and now a complete takeover is the only logical conclusion. 

The country stupidly failed to act in its best interests and, in the process, is realizing the limitations of its military capability. 

The Public’s Relationship

The second reason behind the silliness of the war revolves around the American public’s response, the lack of impact our voices have and the disillusionment with the current events that far too many Americans hold. 

As of March 25, 61% of the American public disapproved of the conflict. If one were unaware of the administration’s prior actions and broad unfavorability across all issues, they’d most likely ask how Trump was elected in the first place. We’ve always been taught about the history and glory of American democracy, after all. 

But unfortunately, aided by Kamala Harris’ unwillingness to come off as anti-war, enough voting Americans bought into Trump’s lie about being a peaceful President.

Joe Biden facilitated a genocide, and his Vice President didn’t indicate any inclination to end it either, but it says something about our country’s political education when over 77 million Americans either disregard actions such as the assassination of Qassem Soleimani or are just completely oblivious to them. 

Nobody could have predicted the Israeli government’s takeover of our foreign policy, but a brief look at the actions of the first Trump administration exposes his initial peacemaker facade.

Now, the American public is observing a war nobody willingly voted for. 

Our already flawed idea of democracy is completely falling apart, leading to large-scale disillusionment with the political process, particularly amongst those from Gen Z. 

As a 20-year-old college student myself, I encounter fewer and fewer people who consistently keep up with current events or even consider the ways policy affects our lives.

I saw a plethora of TikToks regarding the uptick in gas prices, but no critical engagement with how the expensiveness manifested in the first place. 

This can be directly connected to the lack of representation in terms of what the population wants within the highest positions of power, whether the Republican or even the Democratic party. 

If Americans can’t rely on the electoral process anymore, many just choose to focus on what they can change individually, leading to the rise of movements such as “looks-maxxing” or hustle culture. This has also been significantly exacerbated by the capitalist rejection of collectivism as a whole in American society.

The America we were taught, in every facet, is being exposed as a falsity right before our very eyes, and all it took was one month. You can’t describe it as anything else but stupid.