[Gengis Khan]

People and culture are all that will survive. Empires rise violently, survive violently and ultimately break-up as violently. British empire, Spanish Empire, French Empire, Japanese Empire, Soviet Empire all died a violent death. And all of them, without exception left behind a legacy of death and devastation of unimaginable proportions.

America has people and culture it can be proud of. And its great legacy will survive for ages because its not an Empire. I have just no idea why some Americans are so fascinated with the British Empire that they wish to latch on to it, want to inherit its legacy, tread on its footsteps and go down the path of eventual destruction like it has been for every other Empire.

I believe America is its own creation and thats what makes it great. Nowhere in its former colonies (and I don't consider US, Australia, Canada or New Zealand as "colonies") has the British Empire managed to leave behind a good/respectable opinion of itself. I have no idea why some Americans want to tarnish their own heritage by wanting to be part of that cruel legacy of the British Raj. I believe it has more to do with pissing harder on the French, nothing else.

[DesiCoderExtreme]

George Washington and his rebels would be turning over in their graves if they could read the words of ethnocentric racist pseudo-Americans like sam_paine. If this whacko likes the British Empire so much maybe he should move to London and bow before HRH Queen Elizabeth mother of the Charles the Prince of Wales a.k.a The House of Windsor Mullah.

[sam_paine]

I'm reading your arguments, and I appreciate them.

I hope you appreciate the fact that there are still some disagreements on FR and that a clash of opinions can help us both to understand different perspectives, if not perhaps modify our own.

For example, next time you roll this argument out, you can refine your list of "violent ends of empire."

British empire, Spanish Empire, French Empire, Japanese Empire, Soviet Empire all died a violent death.

British Empire - 1997, Peaceful handover of Hong Kong, for example.

Imperial Japan - TRUE! Violent end, indeed!

Soviet Empire - Ended with a relatively resounding whimper.

I think you are correct that America is a unique new "non-Empire" but it certainly does have elements of the old empire that we should learn from, avoid (corrupt financial influence/aid)...but also some things that were good (stabilizing navy, rule of law), at least, left the world a bit better than it was before or otherwise.

This is where we disagree, but that doesn't mean we're both wrong.

Nowhere in its former colonies ... has the British Empire managed to leave behind a good/respectable opinion of itself.

Simply not true. Perhaps it's true for you/India, but it is NOT universally true. Again, I lived in HK for a while, and you can't imagine a more desperately evil influence of opiates/imperial domination, right? Awful stuff. Yet, people from Guangdong don't hate the British. I don't know how many times people would tell me that they were proud of HK and were thankful for the British, otherwise HK would still be a sleepy little fishing community instead of a world financial/trade center.

I suppose you could tell them they were wrong.