Likewise, and I don't think this problem is limited to the US. There's a kind of smug complacency in much of western Europe that is hard to overcome.

An exchange I saw last night that really typefies this problem: one person posted something to the effect of 'all tyrants eventually fall,' and someone else responded that no, that is not correct. Tyrants do not fall, they are overthrown by the deliberate, conscious, long-term, relentless actions of people. There are situations so dire they people have to act, and sometimes, those people have to be you. (Obviously I don't mean you personally, I mean plural 'you' in a general sense.)