Before you dismiss what will soon appear to be pure American apologism, please give it a fair chance. Yes, I am an American, but I've also studied enough of history, politics (contemporary, classical, and comparative, to be alliterative about it), anthropology, and sociology to not be a biased git.
So, with that in mind, let's dive in:
When compared to any other empire at its apex, America has behaved laudably. Whether America is an empire, whether America is at its apex or past it, and whether America is as "powerful" as say the Romans, is irrelevant. For the past fifty years (maybe even seventy) America has been the preeminent country on the planet. We have been the giant, holding the big stick. We have had the military might, and economic wherewithal, to conquer the world like Charlemagne if we so chose.
And yet we didn't. We could have used our military might to simply take what we wanted of the world's resources (like Persia, or Rome, or the Ottoman Empire, or Japan, or really everyone else when they've had the big stick). Instead we traded for what we wanted, and even built up the very countries we had vanquished, making them strong economic competitors and strong rivals. We rebuilt Germany after we bombed it into the ground, we rebuilt Japan after we bombed it into the ground. We even rebuilt England and France after they were trampled under Hitler's war machine (though the latter never seems to give us credit for this).
We were instrumental in setting up the Nuremberg War-Crimes Trials, and in setting up the rules governing armed conflict that lay out the most stringent policies for warmaking and conduct during war that have ever existed. And we have (generally) kept peace in the world without having to resort to the draconian measures of any previous empire. The Romans created Pax Romana by making it clear that they would kill anyone and everyone even partially related to people who were in the vicinity of a Roman citizen being hurt. We could have bombed all of Afghanistan and Iraq, destroying both countries in their totalities, but we didn't. Yet if we were truly analogous to any previous empire, we would have, because they did.
The Ottoman Empire (the descendants of whom are the residents of the country we're currently wringing our hands about having bombed, and still trying our best to avoid killing civilians) expanded massively into both Europe and Asia, killing and subjugating people on its way.
Yes, we treated the Native Americans poorly, and we did bad things to Africans, but every country has a sordid history with its aborigines. Similarly, the history of slavery is far too diverse to be a purely American invention. Take the shots you like, but judge not lest ye be judged.
Name me a country that has not abused its power when it had it, and that country gets to complain about American foreign policy. For everyone else, we have shown more restraint with the power that we wield than you ever did. We stand astride the world like a collosus, and yet we put fewer people under our heel.
So, with that in mind, let's dive in:
When compared to any other empire at its apex, America has behaved laudably. Whether America is an empire, whether America is at its apex or past it, and whether America is as "powerful" as say the Romans, is irrelevant. For the past fifty years (maybe even seventy) America has been the preeminent country on the planet. We have been the giant, holding the big stick. We have had the military might, and economic wherewithal, to conquer the world like Charlemagne if we so chose.
And yet we didn't. We could have used our military might to simply take what we wanted of the world's resources (like Persia, or Rome, or the Ottoman Empire, or Japan, or really everyone else when they've had the big stick). Instead we traded for what we wanted, and even built up the very countries we had vanquished, making them strong economic competitors and strong rivals. We rebuilt Germany after we bombed it into the ground, we rebuilt Japan after we bombed it into the ground. We even rebuilt England and France after they were trampled under Hitler's war machine (though the latter never seems to give us credit for this).
We were instrumental in setting up the Nuremberg War-Crimes Trials, and in setting up the rules governing armed conflict that lay out the most stringent policies for warmaking and conduct during war that have ever existed. And we have (generally) kept peace in the world without having to resort to the draconian measures of any previous empire. The Romans created Pax Romana by making it clear that they would kill anyone and everyone even partially related to people who were in the vicinity of a Roman citizen being hurt. We could have bombed all of Afghanistan and Iraq, destroying both countries in their totalities, but we didn't. Yet if we were truly analogous to any previous empire, we would have, because they did.
The Ottoman Empire (the descendants of whom are the residents of the country we're currently wringing our hands about having bombed, and still trying our best to avoid killing civilians) expanded massively into both Europe and Asia, killing and subjugating people on its way.
Yes, we treated the Native Americans poorly, and we did bad things to Africans, but every country has a sordid history with its aborigines. Similarly, the history of slavery is far too diverse to be a purely American invention. Take the shots you like, but judge not lest ye be judged.
Name me a country that has not abused its power when it had it, and that country gets to complain about American foreign policy. For everyone else, we have shown more restraint with the power that we wield than you ever did. We stand astride the world like a collosus, and yet we put fewer people under our heel.
