[chrisdhoover]

The US had civil defense, air raid sirens and fallout shelters. Students practiced duck and cover. The paranoia was real. It led to the star wars defense program and out spending the Soviet union until they collapsed.

Switzerland is surrounded by belligerents who have historically been at war with each other. France vs Italy. Italy versus Austria and Germany against everyone.

Your take ignores the history of accomplishment in the US. The founding, the constitution, settling the continent , building great cities, industrialization, defeating Nazis, building the Interstate highway system, landing on the moon and placing satellites in space, creating world changing technology to name but a few.

[rapjr9]

This raises a question in my mind as a US citizen. The US is planning on spending a trillion dollars to update our nuclear weapon stockpile. Are we also spending another trillion to update our civil defense shelters? One doesn't make much sense without the other.

[palmotea]

> Are we also spending another trillion to update our civil defense shelters? One doesn't make much sense without the other.

No. I did some research around the start of the Ukraine war. IIRC, the US Civil Defense program was always half-ass and has been pretty much non-existent for my entire lifetime.