A Defining Experience

In introducing the new At War blog on the New York Times, the paper writes:

This generation’s conflict, which began on 9/11, is nearly eight years old. Yet there are no signs that it will end anytime soon, with the Obama administration sending thousands more troops into Afghanistan and Iraq facing enormous military and political challenges as American troops withdraw. So “At War” — an expansion of our Baghdad Bureau blog — is a recognition that war is now, and will be, a defining experience for Americans.

I don’t know how defining this is for Americans writ-large. Clearly, it’s the defining experience for the military and their families and for those engaged with U.S. foreign policy. But how many people is that? It seems there's far more passion behind the health care debate than there is behind the surge in Afghanistan. Am I missing something?