What we will be focusing on in this video and in the next few videos is, as the title indicates, the American Empire.
Perhaps my saying this might be surprising for some of you to hear - because perhaps some people might not regard America as an Empire.
Be that as it may, the term Empire strikes me as the one that fits the best - America, after all, has been arguably the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the world in modern times, has it not? Since perhaps the early part of the 20th Century and, I would argue, even earlier than that.
To put this issue more plainly, if an animal were to be described, if it was said to have a curly tail, a flat snout, was rather portly, pinkish in colour, lived on a farm and it oinked, the chances are, you would probably say that what had been described was a pig.
And I’m sure that most people, if told these descriptions, would probably also say it was a pig that was being described. We could all be wrong of course. But is that likely?
At the very least, I’m pretty sure that I’m right in saying that it’s not a dog, or a pony, or a duck. Anyway, I think I’ve made my point.
In any event, until such time as someone can, by using sound logic and by their powers of persuasion, make me change my thinking on the matter, I’m going to stick with the term I’ve used. And I’m going to continue to call America an Empire.
The reason that some of people might not regard America as an Empire, I would venture, is because America is not commonly spoken about in terms of being an Empire.
As far as I’m aware, such things aren’t really talked about. The American Empire is not a topic for ordinary discussion.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it doesn’t actually seem to be discussed anywhere – not in the MSM at any rate. I’ve never heard anyone on TV talk about the “American Empire”, or “the US Empire”. The terms “American Empire” or “the US Empire” are not broadcast to the world by any media outlets – not as far as I’m aware and not in so many words.
Nor is it a topic for study in classrooms in schools. There are no lessons on “the US Empire” in history at school.
Nor is it a topic for study in Universities. “The US Empire” is not a subject you can take a course in. “Gender Studies”, yes, “Transnational Queer Feminist Politics”, yes. “The US Empire”, no.
Neither teachers in a school, nor lecturers in higher education, assign any homework, or essays with titles such as “US Hegemony – good or bad? Discuss”. Or “American Imperialism and its impacts on Asia.” Not to my knowledge at any rate.
I’m aware that I’m probably wrong in the claims I’ve just made. Maybe there are in fact courses in University on the topic. I simply said such things in order to put my point across. And my point is, that it not discussed all that much, not to the extent that it should be anyway.
“American Imperialism”, “US Hegemony”, “The US Empire”, or “The American Empire” doesn’t get as much coverage as say “Critical Race Theory” (CRT). If these topics did, almost ever
