Years ago, I discovered that Reason / Logic is not a foundation for belief (compare Ayn Rand, a true believer in the religion of Logic); I discovered (yes, I know it's not my discovery) that Reason can support any belief, no matter how irrational. That is why we call it rationalizing when we put a logical face on something that everyone else sees is totally unrational. What I believe is that we all come from our guts, and we use logic to convince ourselves that our gut feelings are the truth. Logic is everyone's handmaiden; it serves us all, in our truth, in our arrogance, even in our ignorance.
I have a premise for all that I have to say from here on, a gut axiom, so to speak, not subject to rational proof or question. Upon that foundation, I will build my case, with reason and logic. But I am fully aware that my credo is built on an unquestioned premise. And I will tell you what that is. If you don't like my premise, you will have no reason to listen to my argument or my conclusions. My premise is: the life and health (safety, viability, happiness, etc.) of my group is more important than the life and health of any one of my group's members, including me. If you can't go along with this, so be it, good bye. And good riddance, for you either didn't understand this simple statement, or, understanding it, you are too self-obsessed to see its obviousness. I am not saying any more than that 2 is greater than 1.
So, in my vision, the Planet (the largest container of Life that we know) comes first; next comes Biological Life on the Planet; next comes our kind of life (Homo Sapiens); next comes the fulfillment of "mankind's glorious destiny"; next comes our nation's place in that journey; your family and, finally, your part and mine. In other words, if you had a choice of saving the world or saving the USA, wouldn't you choose to save the world? (This is not a trick question. But amazingly, most people would not choose to save the world, they just don't get it.)
That's it. I pray we (humans) have a large role to play in future history; but I fear we will blow it. And the reason will be our collective arrogant ignorance. In the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, we have a right to be stupid, arrogant and ignorant, and we have a right to blow it all. Why I am writing this is my contribution to blowing in the opposite direction.