One of the defining characteristics of the progressive Left is its unshakeable belief that it can bend reality to its increasingly deranged worldview. This means a world where one’s sex can be changed by believing it so and the nation can be powered by wind and solar instead of fossil fuels.

Most of the time these ideas range from amusing to delusional, but eventually such delusions come at a steep price, like when millions suffer without electricity in the middle of a massive winter storm because the wind turbines froze over.

And now, such dangerous delusions are coming to the American military.

While our communist Chinese enemies are rapidly building up their air force and navy, constructing massive floating islands in the South China Sea to be used as mobile battle stations and resupply depots for their expansionist ambitions and relentlessly pursuing the goal of supplanting America as the world’s dominant super power, the U.S. military is focused on … making sure that no soldier gets their feelings hurt.

In a new “Inclusion and Diversity” report released by the U.S. Navy, members of the “Task Force One Navy” (TF1N) publicly pledge to “advocate for and acknowledge all lived experiences and intersectional identities of every Sailor in the Navy.”

Members also pledge “to be an example in establishing healthy, inclusive and team-oriented environments.”

This task force was created in June in order to “analyze and evaluate issues in our society and military that detract from Navy readiness, such as racism, sexism and other structural and interpersonal biases to attain significant, sustainable [inclusion and diversity]-related reform.”

This is dangerous lunacy.

By definition and design, our military is an exclusive club. Only those who meet the mental, physical, and psychological standards demanded by the military are admitted into its ranks because readiness depends on it. And for each branch’s Special Forces, the rigors and demands are even higher. The Navy SEALs are among the most revered of all military special operations groups, and for good reason. Only 6% of Navy recruits meet the minimum qualifications to even enter SEAL training, and of those who apply, 75% will drop out.

Inclusivity for this elite brotherhood comes only after overcoming the hellish obstacles and endurance trials of the training. The bond comes from knowing the man next to you will put his life on the line for you and is capable of heroic feats under the most daunting of circumstances.

The military is not summer camp. It is not there to help you get in touch with your feelings, to validate your worldview, or to help you make friends. It is there to protect the American people and their interests, and to do so through lethal force, or the threat thereof.

So when the Navy says that it will “combat all forms of discrimination,” we must ask, at what cost?

Lowering physical standards to meet diversity quotas has real-world consequences. It can mean literally life and death on the battlefield. “Interpersonal biases” give way to mutual respect through the shared knowledge that the person next to you is willing to die for you.

But what takes priority when traditional training standards clash with the new politically correct directives? If a trainee fails to meet the standards, but then claims discrimination, will the unqualified soldier get a pass and in doing so put the lives of other soldiers at risk?

Another recent development threatens to make unit readiness and cohesiveness even weaker.

Shortly after his appointment by Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a 60-day “stand-down” in order for the military to investigate “extremism and extremist ideology” within its ranks.

Have communists infiltrated America’s military? Nope. The catalyst for this was allegedly the Capitol riot, but to date, only one active-duty member of the U.S. military has been identified as a participant in those riots, despite the fact that tens of thousands protested that day and hundreds rioted.

This would be a welcomed development if it were to root out actual extremists like the radical Muslim Major Nidal Hassan, who massacred more than a dozen service members at Fort Hood in 2009. It was well known by his superiors that Hassan had been radicalized and was actively communicating with a radical Islamic cleric preaching terrorism and death to Americans. Yet Hassan’s radicalism was ignored, lest the Army be accused of Islamophobia (read: lacking diversity and inclusiveness).

Sadly, the far more likely scenario is that good, decent, patriotic Americans will be driven from the ranks of our Armed Forces because they fail to bow to the Biden administration’s far-left ideology, where every white man is a de facto white supremacist, traditional Christian doctrine is “hate,” and patriotism is a sign of extremism.

Oh, Biden will play the part of a moderate when campaigning among the rubes in “flyover country,” as he recently did in a speech to service members. “You’re incredible heroes and incredible patriots,” he told them. “I will never, ever dishonest [sic] you — dishonor you. I will never disrespect you. I will never politicize the work you do.”

Of course, those comments came shortly after Biden said, “There is no aspect of our agenda … where the women and men of the Defense Department do not have a role.” That includes “helping curb the pandemic … addressing the real threats of climate change … [and an] ongoing fight for racial justice.”

Sounds pretty political. And dangerous.