And then Doug said: "it seems to me that most Americans don't care too much if their military is bombing other countries as long as no Americans get killed, or are at risk of getting killed. No draft, no antiwar movement. Am I being too cynical?"
When did people ever care? There is a huge disconnect between government and "the governed," and most people just don't give a shit anymore. When was the last time you complained to your reps in Washington and got a reply back that even had your name spelled right? I don't think you can ever be too cynical about government, but maybe that's because I'm only 30 (post-Nixon and Nam). Was it different before??? I'd be curious to hear other takes on this.
With the unemployment rate so low, amazing growth for some years now, etc., crime rates are down, and I would bet that you could extend this idea to civic unrest. I know that I am too tired at the end of day to contemplate doing anything about it. Work is the opiate of the masses.
No draft _obviously_ means no antiwar movement, because the only people directly threatened--in the US--are those that were "dumb" enough to join the army thinking they'd never have to do anything (trust me, I've run into a lot of these guys). All the college boys and middle class yahoos don't have to do anything but watch the horrors on TV. So what's to protest? Vietnam threatened the security of the young men in and out of universities, so they protested. The only thing threatened now is the "pride" of us Americans, who are basically being beaten, and is probably what causes the support for ground troops.
Julie