Was that last sentence a question? If it was then the answer is no simply because the USA is not an empire. We don't have client states or colonies that pay tribute to us and we don't have an emperor. If we were an empire we wouldn't have a terrorism problem because we could turn the middle ease into a monument of smoldering craters and we wouldn't have to worry about the repercussions. Things would be easier, but then we'd be more like subjects than citizens, wouldn't we?
No, before the Constitution was ratified there was no justice nor domestic tranquillity. When the revolution concluded our states were surrounded by enemies and sometimes treated each other as such. A second revolution to overthrow the new government had to be put down with military force. The constitutional convention was a response to that sitation, and it established a government meant to represent the people as much, and eventually more than, the states. So whatever corruption you're seeing in our government is a reflection on you and me and every citizen, whether we all vote or not. (On a side note, the taxes we pay now are far more outrageous than anything the British parliment mandated.)
Without a federation of states, and a system of courts, and police, and an army and navy, and roads, schools, welfare systems, and the myriad of other government programs, we would all have to fend for ourselves, not exactly helpless, but certainly unable to repell jihadists who wish an end to the western world.
In my opinion we have the right, simply by existing, by being alive, to defend ourselves, even if that means destroying a culture that turns people into suicide bombers. And the more terrorists that culture produces, the sooner we can destroy it. We could leave them alone, and let the jihad follow us home, for it will not end simply because we're not actively provoking it. Or we could take the fight to them. Either way, this jihad must be endured and a generation must die before a peaceful conclusion is met. It won't happen to your satisfaction in your lifetime, floyd, certainly not before Bush's term ends. The question is do you want our soldiers as your proxy, trained, supplied, and paid by the government, to fight your enemies overseas, or are you as an individual solely responsible for your own security? Don't be surprised if other people disagree with your answer, and please don't call them delusional for doing so.
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