I think it really is hard for the average person to grasp just how much the US has invested into warfare. Heck, I'd argue the absolute powerhouse of the military isn't even weapons, it's logistics.
It's simply not even plausible that the US military industrial complex comes grinding to the proverbial halt over Venezuela.
If any other country tried to invade the US, they must first cross oceans to do anything effective, and with modern equipment, I doubt any stealth tech could slip in unnoticed, and everything else would be intercepted by the navy or, assuming the navy has largely become ineffective from being over-extended, national guard, coast guard, and just plain old home defense structures.
Keep in mind, several buildings around DC house anti-air sites and other defensive structures. They'd be last-resort type things though, home defense would be priority (or would be in any other administration) so you can bet in case of an attack, non military traffic would be grounded and jets would be scrambled, since no matter how bare-bones some squad in Caracas is, the personnel and equipment at home are fully stocked.
Unless the rest of the world completely cuts off the US, and honestly unless we actually strike at a major EU country I don't see that happening, the US will keep chugging along, ~~conscripting~~ kidnapping people for the Orphan Grinding Machine. The 0.01% will never feel it, and will keep the poors fighting until the rest of the world turns their backs and nobody is left standing to fight.
I'm not singing the praise of the US military. This isn't "American exceptionalism" here. This is shameful overspending on death machines while citizens starve. This is disgusting abhorrence for humanity that will result in loss of life on an unimaginable scale unless things change.
How many people would still be alive today if we had just decided to mind our own business after 1945? How many regions would be far more prosperous?
If you made it to the end of my rambling, I'm sorry for wasting your time. I might be a little baked right now. Thanks for reading though
Having children.
That's a mistake I'm not going to repeat.
For interacting with kids, I always try to act like I'm interested in the things they're talking about. It doesn't matter if it's their tiny life goals, or that cool rock they saw yesterday that wasn't as cool as the rock they saw last month at the museum.
Nobody was ever interested in anything I have to say, and even after being with my wife for 6 years, she's still trying to get me to talk more. Even I want to share something, my brain still says "they're not interested, don't bother" and I just keep it to myself. That's probably why I like to comment on platforms like this so much, I can speak my piece and then move on and if anyone is interested in replying, I get a (usually) nice interaction with someone for a few minutes.
My wife's dead sister used to scream at her children when they spoke because she "doesn't want to hear [their] bullshit" and whenever her youngest would start giggling at something she was talking about she would scream at her to shut up because she's annoying. The oldest was old enough to remember all of this perfectly, the youngest just has night terrors she can never remember.
My wife's living sister just ignores her 8 children when they're talking. Almost never even looks away from her phone or laptop when they talk and goes "yeah, uh-huh, mhmm, yep" and so on to make it seem like she's listening. The oldest has caught on and has started saying off the wall stuff like "my head came off at school and the teacher kicked it into the trash" and things like that to see if her mother even notices. Usually she doesn't.
It's not enough to just be technically listening. You have to show interest. It's not always easy, and when you have a lot on your plate it's even harder, but you can sit and listen to babbling for a few minutes, it won't hurt you, and you might make that kid's day.