Hayes' book is not political, it refers to something much deeper and fundamental in the society. Perhaps it is elliptically connected to the mindless careerism and arrogance of the "elites" (whatever that means) and that might be part of the bottomless greed and rapacity which, if not a cause of modern Capitalism, then is one of its inevitable results. Still, even that is just a speculation on my part. So far, Hayes
has made no moral judgments, he is only identifying a trend.

My comments on the Founders was a lame attempt at irony. Although those early Americans were certainly warriors, for them a standing army was simply a tool of tyranny. You might need an armed citizenry to fight to gain or preserve your freedom, or repel a foreign invasion, but the idea of a permanent professional peacetime army would have been anathema to them, little better than a gang of mercenary thugs. Their constitutional solution was a "well-regulated militia" to "bear arms" to combat insurrections, put down Indian uprisings, and chase down fugitive slaves. Their ideal was the citizen armies of the Greek polis and Roman Republic, not the professional legions of Caesar's Empire.

To think that a highly professionalized standing army is the most respected institution in 21st century America would have been an obscenity to them.