[Always A Marine]

I think the dangerous thing that the West is doing is assuming that our values are universal.

That's an excellent point, and I think it's just as dangerous for Americans to assume even that all of the "The West" shares our values. Our historic allies in Europe no longer exist as sovereign nations, only as parts of the bureaucratic entity in Brussels. The world is changing rapidly, and we Americans must reexamine our role in it before we find ourselves fighting someone else's wars.

[rbmillerjr]

“Our historic allies in Europe no longer exist as sovereign nations, only as parts of the bureaucratic entity in Brussels.”

I think you are smart enough to realize that that is overstated. They are still sovereign nations even though they have ceded some decision-making to the EU. It eventually will fail because at some point nations always act in their best interest.