I keep coming across posts saying such and such (socially positive, like inclusivity) is what makes America great. What they have in common is the chauvinism that makes America not so great.

Not to sound crass! Jesus wept; that little spiel is about as crass as it gets.

In addition to this awful trumpian program, there is to the foreign observer, something deeply, disturbingly culturally American about this. It could be a scene from any US thriller. There is in US a culture an acceptance even celebration of violence. Lots of US drama is just about revenge.

I suppose 1 out of 4 is ok

Yup. He and his kind are likely to be right some time - based on the monkeys at a typewriter scenario, eventually they will write Hamlet

Forget the machismo Read about the actual causes of this catastrophic war, eg Jeffrey Sachs. They involve US NATO stupidity, aggression and hubris as much as Russian actions. Oh yes, and remember that whoever is to blame a nuclear war is worth avoiding at all costs.