re: What’s the deal with Russian Forces Opening fire on evacuating Ukrainians?

I made an observation a few years back, I think before the movement that got Trump elected:

the general US population (including the media, and both political parties) was fairly united during the Cold War. Every disagreement was overshadowed by the fact that the Soviet Union could destroy us with the push of a button, and "they wanted to take over the world". We could bicker about lots of things, but at the end of the day we had a common enemy.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, all of that has slid sideways. We're not scared of any outsiders, so we have no reason to come together. Different groups bitch and moan about all sorts of petty shite, with crazy priorities, like we're living in a vacuum and nothing outside the US exists. Even the concerns about China are only whether we will use their goods on our market, and if that takes away some of our jobs. Nobody feared they would endanger our lives. So it would go on long enough that their products became accepted, the same way Japanese autos were- nobody rants that you need to buy a Ford instead of a Toyota anymore.

Whatever else might be going on in Ukraine, every fiber of US politics and media is trying to portray the Russians as "the terrible enemy" again, so we can unite behind something. Both parties are exerting media pressure, along with many industries. Having an enemy justifies "sacrifices" among the populace, which benefits the rulers.