Do you believe that American Imperialism is a good thing?
929344
Not a concern anymore. It's falling apart.
865548
That is an interesting point about America from its neighbour. It is a pity that Americans have not earned the good will of even one of his neighbours. They need to have a re look at their international relations and relations with their neighbours.
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No.  It is an outdated and flawed system that is representative of qualities similar to that of the British empire in which our forefathers fought so desperately to get away from.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.
687761
I feel America does not want to control territory as such.It only wants to maintain its supremacy and balance of world power.Controlling new territories is not good for the USA instead it is troublesome for them to hold on to foreign countries.
25590
well i'm not american but i'm definatelly against it...i think this war is a "nice" way for the president to come along with his capitalistic and imperialistic tactics
122507
I think you are trying to ask if the US should let the Chinese influence US politics.  If that is what you are asking, then the answer is yes; no one should be involved in US politics except Americans.
1106843
By itself yes, but check my answers and others, it goes way beyond that.  On this issue I don't believe our leaders are protecting Americans as much as an illegal community and colonizers.
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.
899999
America is a tool for the new world order and global domination of course it's all a facade... i cant count the number of times that bush and the other politicians have stated a... "New world order" under the auspices of the united nations... "we are just puppets pulled by the strings of the world"!
544816
I don't think that one can generally say that colonization has benefited those colonized African countries or not. I am from Africa and my country has not been colonized because of the triumph of our ancestors over the colonizing powers. Our forefathers had repeatedly to fight with European forces for the sovereignty of our country. Among the historic fights one had lasted about five years and whenever I mention it I have to admit how good some of such powers were. For example, in spite of uninterrupted patriotic fights the colonizing forces were facing during those restless five years a lot of infrastructural facilities (which are still quite useful) were developed.\n\nSometimes I ask myself which one would have been better for us, being colonized or not. Most of the time I am happy that my country's resources are not taken away by foreigners and our nation has maintained its independence. Especially independence of thoughts that gave us self-confidence; confidence not to submit for some unjustified ideas and remarks only by looking whom they come from.\n\nHowever, having abundant untouched natural resources and age long history of independence we are still poor and we have not used our natural resources yet. When I think of this, I wish we were colonized, our resources were explored/ exploited and my country was developed a bit more with most of the resource taken away. But the things that still outweigh this idea in my mind are: one we have not become victims of the segregation thing the colonialists did in other countries [for example, in Rwanda], second we don't have any national problem related to colour based unbalanced resource utilization/allocation, and thirdly we truly love and respect all human beings for we all are equal.\n\nIn general, I believe, being colonized has advantages and disadvantages. We have to accept it as a historic event and we also have to beg forgiveness for some of the rulers who lost respect for mankind and were so cruel. It happened the way it was allowed to happen by the heavenly Father. Now we have to work together to make a difference in the life of African people. Colonization was good and colonization was also bad. It has two faces. For they are inseparable, it has merits and demerits but what matters is which face we turn and see/often see/ often like to see.
494815
What a silly solution.Accept your countries great achievements.This made america proud.Better to direct your thoughts to todayThen america was the envy of the world. Not so today
316379
I don't think we're so much imperialists.. we just open up trade restrictions, move all our companies there and then abuse the local workforce and natural resources until they are depleted... then on to the next country...
168280
From what I remember from American history, though perhaps my memory fails, he was a very expansionistic president and he would send U.S. troops to places they shouldn't really have been. Perhaps he was the first president to give the impression of the U.S. as a sort of "bully" in this aspect, and even to day the U.S. has problems sending their troops where they don't belong. Overall though, he was one of America's finest presidents I beleive. Hey, nobody's perfect.\n\nYes, I did a quick check and that's right. He called it "New Imperialism."
687587
Sometimes I think it is all the fault of the American patriots, that they stooped to the (then unheard-of) tactics of shooting at the British from behind trees and bushes. They used these underhanded techniques, largely learned from the savages of the American continents, to compensate for their numerical inferiority. \n\nThough I share the beliefs and values of the Founding Fathers and their armies, though I cherish the freedoms we have as Americans, this still bothers me.\n\nThe success of the American colonials inspired the French Revolution, which was so bloody it is now known in history as the Reign of Terror. If only Louis had thought to give them a whiff of grapeshot and then fix bayonnets and charge the rabble away! There would still be a Louis on the throne of France. Instead, it only encouraged that unpleasantness with the Corsican adventurer and all the rest that followed.\n\nFor generations afterward, whenever a coup took place in South America, the mustachio'd 'gentlemen' would say, "We are not revolutionaries! We are freedom fighters! Not conqustadors, patriots! Not oppressors, liberators!" \n\nCommunism picked that theme up and ran with it for decades. Until it fell apart. Even now, there are some that think Communism has not been discredited; only that it has not been tried hard enough, long enough.\n\nCommunism funded many people and movements in Africa. And there was, and is, the tension between Islam and the rest of the world. Strategic materials such as chromium and uranium have provoked many a conflict. Less strategic materials such as gold and diamonds have also done so.\n\nIn the final analysis, I would have to say-- as old as it sounds, it is still profound-- the ends do not justify the means. Some may think that we, as Americans, cannot point the finger (given our own beginnings.) \n\nBut if we want there to be an end to this, someone must start. If we wait to begin until there is a nation that has never done such things, we will be waiting a long time.
524663
Structuring a nation's foreign policy to acquire and develop colonies is a strategy of building an empire.  This is imperialism.\n\nWhen a number of empires aggregate themselves into unnecessary alliances, a great and needless conflict can erupt over a petty incident.  This is how the First World War started in 1914.  The first post argues that this is a crime caused by imperialism.  But foreign alliances of this sort are apart from intra-national colony building, which is imperialism proper.\n\nMy feeling is that the dangerous element in imperialism is that petty governments can develop oppressive colonies.  France, Belgium, Germany and the United States were ineffective and cruel imperial powers.  The arrogant and corrupt French mismanagement of Indo-China is a prime example of imperialism creating a world "hot spot" of trouble that ultimately haunted the United States.  The Belgium imperial government of the Congo sponsored a genocide campaign.  Imperial Russia under the Romonov's oppressed all their people and, coupled with an unpopular participation in an alliance during the First World War, were toppled as a government.  The Soviets oppressed and expanded this empire, ultimately were toppled as a government, and the south Asian republics that exist today are unstable and potential dangerous to peace on that continent.\n\nThe best argument for imperialism as a good movement was, of course, the British Empire.  After harrassing their American colonies into a successful revolt, the British never made a mistake of that magnitude again.  Unlike the other colonial powers, the British led with a light hand (one one person in 800 in colonial India was actually British) and were the world leaders in modernizing and industrializing their colonies.  To this day, compare a map of the railroads in India to those of the surrounding countries to see their emphasis upon colonia infrastruture.\n\nThe great dream of the ultimate British imperialist, Cecil Rhodes, was not merely all of the eastern part of Africa being placed under British rule, but the development and expansion of the empire to eventually re-incorpoate the United States into Great Britain (!) and become the world's government, with a benefit being no multi-power international conflict and therefore no more war.\n\nIt is hard to claim that the British Empire was a negative influence on the world.  The main complaint, and it is a well founded one, is that the British Empire warped and grossly changed the native cultures of the peoples it ruled.  It was an empire of forced modernization.\n\nThe greatest feat of the British Empire goes unheralded and largely unrecognied.  Britain's flag was planted on one quarter of the world's population.  The British were the first genuinely international currency and international banking system.  Nor is this just a prelude to the internationalism that has become the standard model of growth since 1945.\n\nThe other major empires folded or made deals with Hitler, except for the United Sttes (still an imperial power in the 1930's with the Philippines as a territory).  Hitler made  a deal with the Soviets and successfully invaded Belgium and France.  But he failed to invade England.\n\nThe English had a vastly superior intelligence system (another benefit of its empire, especially the Canadian intelligence masters) and the British had an imperial banking system which they properly used to bankrupt themselves in order to stop the Nazis.\n\nThe British Empire did not alone defeat the Nazis, but it achieved a stalemate, an accomplishment which saved the world from tyranny once its former territory, the United States, finally came into the fray.  So, at its very best, one of the empires made the world a safer place.\n\nThe cost was the dissolution of the empire itself.  This was a heavy price, but defeat at the hands of Hitler was unthinkable.\n\nThe smaller, crueler, more oppressive empires created dangers which
9098
For all of America's weath and influence, for all of its powerful media, we are surprisingly isolated from the world.  What's more, we are still very slowing climbing out of the cultural muck that has allowed many of us to believe we are literally superior to the rest of the world.\n\nAmerica continues to behave arrogantly to the world, insisting we always know best, and our interests should be always honored.  It has done a great deal of harm to us the past 15 year in my opinion.\n\nIf only some of us could see ourselves in the eyes of those around us in the world.  Of course, most of us are so conceited and self-involved that we couldn't care less.
1106857
Goes back to a point I made in another question...who died and made the US king of the world?  Why can't they fix their own problems and let well enough alone...just because we don't like something doesn't mean it is our responsibility to change it.  However, having said that I do think it is good for all countries to be fair and democratic but not if it's done by the barrel of a US gun.  As for making a country fair and democratic perhaps Bush Co could start with America?