Imperialism – We Can’t Quit You

By Rob C.

Art by Robert McKee

Trump’s war on the media, book bans, and free speech aren’t new — they’re the same imperial tactics America has unleashed abroad, now turned inward. From Manifest Destiny to CIA coups to corporate landlords, the empire has always been about power and profit. The cost? A hollowed-out democracy where citizens foot the bill for endless wars and corporate greed. The choice is stark: keep feeding the empire, or start building a republic worth living in.

Nothing says “land of the free” like banning books at home and bombing villages abroad. The Trump administration’s imperialistic lurch — silencing the press, rewriting history through censorship, and elevating corporate power above free speech — This isn’t a glitch. It’s the same authoritarian playbook the U.S. has exported worldwide for over a century. The empire is simply coming home. Fascism 101: control the narrative, punish dissent, and profit while doing it.

Manifest Destiny, but Global

America started its empire the old-fashioned way — land grabs. First it was Native nations, then Mexico, and soon the Pacific. The 1898 Spanish-American War gave us Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam, all in the name of “liberation.” In reality, it was about expanding markets and military bases.

As I wrote in Democracy for Sale, American expansion was never just about flags on maps. It was about corporate contracts. Manifest Destiny was the original branding strategy, designed to mask conquest with righteousness.

The Corporate Coup Abroad

When “democracy” was inconvenient, we sent in the CIA. Iran in 1953, Chile in 1973, Guatemala, Congo, Indonesia — the list reads like a world tour of toppled governments. The excuse was always fighting communism. The reality was protecting oil fields, fruit companies, and mining interests.

Let’s be honest: Banana Republics weren’t born, they were franchised. Corporate America wrote the foreign policy, the Pentagon enforced it, and Wall Street cashed the checks.

War, Inc.

Eisenhower warned about the military-industrial complex. Nobody listened. Now it’s less a complex than a cartel. Iraq and Afghanistan became ATM machines for defense contractors. Every drone strike fattened a boardroom bonus.

Trump didn’t change the game — he just made it more brazen. Erik Prince pitched private armies like subscription services, Jared Kushner courted Saudi billions, and Trump himself bragged about arms deals as if Lockheed Martin were a family business.

Imperialism at Home

What America did to colonies, it now does to its own citizens. Extraction isn’t just for oil fields abroad; it’s for workers, renters, and communities here.

Police forces are militarized like occupying armies.

Labor unions are gutted to keep wages low and profits high.

BlackRock, Vanguard, and Wall Street landlords scoop up foreclosed homes and rent them back at extortionate rates.

It’s colonization without the passport stamp.

The High Price of Empire

Trillions are spent “defending freedom” overseas while Americans can’t afford insulin, rent, or groceries. Running an empire isn’t cheap. The Pentagon’s annual budget now tops $900 billion — more than the next ten countries combined, most of whom are supposed to be our allies. Yet somehow, the “greatest military in the world” can’t pass an audit. Billions disappear into a black hole of no-bid contracts, shell companies, and overseas “projects” that never materialize.

The empire isn’t defending democracy — it’s devouring it.

Meanwhile, at home, Americans face the real austerity program:

Families are bankrupted by a single hospital stay while UnitedHealth reports record profits and pays executives tens of millions.

Public schools are stripped bare, while “school choice” funnels tax dollars into private academies that cherry-pick their students.

Wall Street firms buy entire neighborhoods, jack up rents, and leave homes empty — but hey, at least Raytheon had a good quarter.

The empire’s math is simple: trillions for war, pennies for peace. We’re told there’s no money for universal healthcare, student debt relief, or climate solutions. But there’s always money for another aircraft carrier or missile system that doesn’t work.

And the insult on top of the injury? Ordinary Americans are expected to wave the flag and thank the empire for keeping them “safe” — even as their wages stagnate, their bills skyrocket, and their rights erode. Safety for whom? Freedom for what?

The truth is, we’re not citizens in this system — we’re the empire’s ATM.

A Better Way Forward

Imagine if the U.S. exported healthcare instead of drones, climate solutions instead of coups, and education instead of censorship. Imagine a democracy that wasn’t for sale to corporations or generals but built by the people, for the people.

It’s not naïve — it’s necessary. Because history shows empires don’t collapse from external threats. They rot from within.