I was appalled when sarkozy put France back in NATO, if that make you feel better.

Even in the current geopolitical context I would preferred the US to get out of our hairs. That would probably smack some sense into EU in regards to a shared defense.

Weirdly enough, none of our politicians, or yours except trump, seems to be super into the idea. I guess NATO yield some dividends, too?

But I was more thinking at resilient community of civilians. Living in village / small town that are livable without that much inputs from the “grid” and without driving miles and miles( because they were build before that support system even existed )

Also, communities where living together is seen as normal, not some hippie or comunist idea.

As a result, elder citizen can lives longer there without need for adhoc care. It’s cheaper to raise kids. Food is cheaper and of better quality. ( farmer markets are where poor people buy food, for instance, not a fancy place for organic ware )

My observations are of rural US and rural France. Of course I’m biased.

If they get rid of NATO then they lose their jobs. NATO needs an enemy to justify their existence. Hence, Russia.

Europe buys US military too, i wouldn't underestimate the costs of the f-35 for each country in Europe :)

It's part buying military assets, but it's also the protection that comes with it.

The US do not spend this out of their generous hearts. This buys them power and control over Europe. They do that for themselves (of course, all countries look after themselves)