I can't disagree with anything you have said there Muddy, but it has opened my mind to wondering if, sometimes, war opens our eyes to the real priorities in life.
eg.....

After the last war we needed to build homes, grow food and make this country better than it had been before the war.Apart from the badly injured, I doubt many people just sat back and waited for the country to look after them, many turned their hands to different trades to help rebuild this country. They were probably determined to demonstrate that we didn't just win the war, we were also going to have a better country to live in. Pride can be a great motivator & life was good for many when this was achieved!

Sadly these days, very few of us had to live through the hard times of war so many just expect a good life and have learned that, if we don't work hard for it ourselves the government will provide.

Are we losing the sense of pride in doing a good job, no matter how hard the work is or what level we are paid?
Are we losing the skills of cooking a reasonable meal, with the products we are able to buy?
Are we losing our individual ability to be independent, because we have a nanny state that will look after us?

When I look around me now, I don't see those strong people who went through the war and came through stronger after it ended. I see people who always want things to be better, but very few that are prepared to go the extra mile to achieve a better life.

Much of Africa is some of the most fertile land in the world.

It's just that the people who live there, and those who run the show, are inefficient. Add to that the facts that they are constantly fighting each other and also breeding like flies.

Some of those countries, when ruled by the British, were much more efficient. Such is life.