[burnt-resistor]

> The military industrial complex always wins in the US

Sounds like learned helplessness. This is only allowed as long as the governed permit it.

> the whole reason why you get elected is because you were against it.

Not every politician is reducible to a single, cliche hivemind. When the person lacks integrity and a record of telling the truth, it's unwise to believe they will keep all of their promises.

[artoghrul]

Trying to deduce general principles from many particular instances is not "learned helplessness". If one wants to understand a system, it's best not to delude oneself with myths, but to spell out the pattern that is confirmed by many observations. A strong myth that keeps the American people in their current state is the idea that the US has a democratic government at the federal level. Once they get over that myth, they might actually be able to make it true.