Could America ever become an empire or will we become divided like so many others because of war?
412119
one day if the US gets a little more power over the rest of the world and some technological advances the US could actually become and empire and use its influence to in effect rule the world.....or.....maybe one day the superpowers of the world will decide to band together and make the entire world and all its people into an unbreakable empire...hey you may laugh now but one day it could happen.
80782
This is a thoughtful question..........Yes, this is a real possibility. America has always stood for the premise of what our country was founded by our forefathers.  Today we have so many people that want to enjoy the "freedom" of our Nation but do not want to accept the responsibilities. Many people do not hold to the same beliefs of the Bill of Rights or the Constitution...........they think of self and the dollar.  Many of the same 7 reasons Rome fell exist in the United States today.  Others have touched on the reasons, this weakens our nation. We need to take back the strengths that we held true in the 20th century and prior years.
128807
Not for years.  The governments of too many surrounding countries have far too much to loose if Iraq becomes a stable democratic state so they will continue to fund and encourage the "insurgents".  However, the violence should lessen as the new government gets organized and the USA starts pulling out.
1138867
Perhaps, but it will never happen.  Under the U.S. Constitution, no state can be created by dividing territory of existing states.\n\n(West Virginia doesn't count because when it was created Virginia was in rebellion and, therefore, not a state.)
1078398
I am a Christan and would fight to the death for my country. \n\nAs for how America will fall, I seriously doubt we will fall from outside forces. We WILL fall and we will fall from within. The signs are already there. (but I do feel we are still about 75-100 years from that)
828343
unfortunately not.  Too many people in India compared to US.  Unless India attacks america and occupy its land...they stands no chance.  There are very few countries in the world that did invade other coutries and occupied land.  India and China are two such countries.  No wonder why these two countries are now  over crowded.
1116786
Hell yeah, were 12 and 1 in wars (unless your from the south,than your 11 and 2). And if we wanted to we could have blown North Vietnam off the face of the earth.\nAmericans were born to fight,and Americans never tolerate losing. We were bred to rule the world.
825707
I think it's the beginning of the end of America as the only super power. We are now doing the exact same things that Rome did before the Fall; becoming a service oriented country, outsourcing our manufacturing businesses, spreading our military out in a major way, etc. etc. . There's other things I'm not listing- I would hope that Americans are curious enough to look and learn. Remember the phrase " Those who don't renenber history are bound to repeat it."
572505
No. We've been here before with Korea and Vietnam. America would be incredibly stupid to make the same mistake again. \n\nIf America invades Iran (as America, and not through its proxy, Israel) America will be taken apart and humiliated in several ways:\n\n1 Militarily - America never wins such wars. It does not understand the passion of the peoples it oppresses. It always makes the mistake that military might wins out - it rarely does - the spirit of the people brings victory - and that spirit swells in the oppressed.\n\n2 Politically - all the World, and notably Europe, with Russia and China, will stand against America.\n\n3 Economically - the Islamic World will decimate US trade, not just oil, but shipping, property, automobile, air, military sales - you name it.\n\nThere will be no third World War over Iran - but America will be mightily defeated by the will of the third World.
1185102
No.  It is an outdated and flawed system that is representative of qualities similar to that of the British empire in which our forefathers fought so desperately to get away from.  We are becoming the United Empire of America....it is a very scary time in our history.  I think politics have outgrown the fair representation of Americans.
461332
No, America is no longer based on its founding priciples.  It has become a empire bent on world domination, and becoming a military state.  See Governmentnews.org and antipasministries.com to see what America has really become.  If you dont live here, Great.  If you live here, GET OUT BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!!!!
302180
I see many similarities between Ancient Rome and America today. Both expanded their holdings using War, and then assimilated the populations into their own, whether they want to be or not. Both rule absolutely depend-less on how their peoples feel, and America shall go down in the hands of "Barbarians" just as Rome did. Everything that is big becomes small. that is Nature.
106822
We'd just end up fighting over lovers. It's human nature to be violent. We need to learn to love war on a smaller scale, like maybe with our neighbors. At least then we would know who we were fighting and what it was about. Globalization just promotes remote-control wars with people we don't know while we don't even talk to the people we live next to. We need to stop trying to get rich through growing exploitation of the weak or the weak-minded.\nBuy less, buy local, including weapons. Join the Pitchfork Party. We only do business with people we can reach with a pitchfork.
182756
Last time America played the Isolationist game we had two World Wars.\n\nAdditionally, America hasn't gone after "oil that doesn't belong to us," or at least not in the way that produces "terrorists." We get about 10% of it from the Middle East and the rest for S. America and the S. Pacific. Curiously, far fewer would-be terrorists come from those areas.\n\nHowever, Freedom isn't an isolationist philosophy. If we believe that all men are created equal, how can we enjoy our freedom while we know that there are those who are still enslaved? Are we to believe that only American's deserve freedom, that we are somehow better than everyone else and thus those other people do no deserve the same freedom that we enjoy? If we do nothing to help these people, then aren't we consenting to their enslavement by means of our silence?\n\nNo country is allowed to remain on the world stage for ever; nations rise and fall. America has this one chance to do something good for other people with its power and though we may fail, at least we can say we tried. Greece, Rome, Babylon, Persia, Media, The Merovingians, the Carolingians, France, England, Germany, China, none of them can say the same.
664521
YOU'D PROBABLY SEE ANOTHER 5 STAR GENERAL IF AMERICA WOULD ACTUALLY DECLARE A WAR.  AMERICA HASN'T DECLARED AN ACTUAL WAR IN 65 YEARS.  ALL THE REST HAVE BEEN 'CONFLICTS'.
770408
What happened to America....good question...\nI don't know if America will ever be what it once was....however, for it to try it has to face certain challenges in the 21st century.\nEssentially, America's greatest challenge is simple - itself. You. The person who throws around political terms such as ‘secular progressives’, ‘neo cons’, ‘libs’…all of these are detrimental to the greater good of Americans. The only way America can be hurt is by hurting itself, which it is currently doing in the mid-east...and has on a global scale since the Vietnam war. The hypocrisy of American politics is directly responsible for any misfortune that happens to the USA. Whether it be arming Saddam in the Iran-Iraq war, or the disasters of South American foreign policy/current problems with Chavez/socialism, giving North Korea technology in the 90s...Iran...\nall of these countries pose as a 'threat' to the American ideal because of reactionary politics towards the US . America's biggest enemy is it's 'pimp and hoe' foreign policy; it is it's media that does not show true violent images of Iraq, in an attempt to keep its people unaware of the reality of war. It's in the illusion that the most powerful superpower the world has ever seen is indeed that powerful - when domestically almost 1/6 of Americans cannot afford healthcare and live on the poverty line. It's in the illusion of divisive politics - wherein pundits debate not for the betterment of their country, but for their own agendas/egos. It's in the hypocrisy of embargoing Cuba, but trading with Communist China at a rate unprecedented in both countries histories. It's in the sensationalist entertainers that grace TV and movie screens everywhere to distract and condition it's public into thinking that we will all be movie stars, NBA players, pop stars....'Idols'...instead of having the public form a legitimate culture and become educated (not just in schools)\nAmerica's greatest challenge is confronting its own ugly underbelly in both politics/foreign policy and contemporary culture...then, and only then can America improve it's image globally, and develop its infrastructure in which all truly still have an opportunity to live comfortably - not just the elite. That, my friends, is America's greatest challenge. Not Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Liberals, Conservatives...\nAmerica needs to confront both the greatness of its history and its ugliness. America is the greatest melting pot in the world, which, in history, has prided itself on the tolerance of other peoples. Today, xenophobia is rampant, and pundits speak, not for their country, but their own beliefs. \nAmerica needs an Age of Reason, not religion. And then, and only then, will it be able to confront the challenges it faces in the 21st century.
276319
In an ideal world, there is a chance what you suggest might work. But humans being what they are, it will never work. Throughout history, there have been civil wars and revolutions. Humans like to distinguish themselves from others. The us versus them is a very strong sense. If there is no other country to call “them” we’ll pick other attributes such as where the others live or the color of their skin.\nLook at Africa, anyone with ½ brain can see that Africa can easily become a major world power if they got a modicum of unity. Not the entire continent needs to become 1 country. As long as they form a union similar to the EU, they will be able to go mush farther. What that would mean is that the small rulers in the many African countries would have to give up the power they have gained, in many cases by force, to a higher form of government. You will see far more cases like what happened in Ethiopia and Eritrea before you see East and West Germany type stories.\nI love your idea in the way that 1 global government would focus on global matters instead of local ones. But unfortunately, I can not see it happening.\nMuslims unite Government and religion into their government. The developed countries separate the 2. Will you force separation of church and state on Muslims or would you tell America they have been wrong by separating religion and government.\nI think a good step towards a united world is education. Starting from America, people should be encouraged to learn about and from other people in the world. Maybe in a few generations, people will come to see the world as what it is, the only planet that we are likely to live on for a long time.