Maybe Burnham wasn't either (people don't talk about him much lately).
If you say, we have to be strong to fight this external threat, you may get a positive response in some places and maybe change things, but if you say we have to resist all manner of internal weaknesses and self-indulgences that could eventually destroy our society, few people will listen.
If you have an economy based on consumption and self-indulgence, it's hard to tell people that they should restrain themselves when others don't.