Imperialism Day

As many Americans celebrate the 4th of July tomorrow, it is important to remember that this is a country founded on conquest, beginning with Native Americans, moving on to the Mexicans in the Mexican-American War, the peoples in a wide range of territories in the Spanish-American War on through Iraqis today. The United States is an imperial power, and always has been; its complaints against King George III in 1776 pale before those against King George II of today, but George Bush the younger is by no means an exceptionally evil president. Bush is just one more in an ongoing series.

And in the absence of changes to the ideology which casts America as “a shining city on the hill,” or a dramatic change in global power relationships, we will repeat our mistakes in Vietnam and Iraq (and, really, the other places as well), again and again.

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