"Rome now equals America, as once it equalled Britain"
Only in somebodies teenage fantasy did Britain ever equal Rome.
The greatest conquerer in history was Queen Victoria.
I would disagree w/ that. At its height the British Empire was something to admire, and it too produced far more benefits than demerits.
It collapsed for a couple of reasons; back to back world wars and an unsustainable aristocricy. that's just MO.
Or America, for that matter.
At her height, Rome embraced between a quarter and a third of the world's population, and was surrounded by regions so weak and poor that the Romans actually rejected admission into the Empire of many tribes and territories.
Geographically, the Romans welded together a practically impossible array of tribes and cultures. America has that effect because of immigration, but immigrants (other than black slaves) are in the US voluntarily. Incorporating whole vast regions and cultures root, stalk and branch is a different thing.
The American influence and power are great, but they are not comparable to what Rome was within its world.
There's never been anything like Rome.