Learning the Lessons of Conquest

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA was destined, from the beginning, to be a global empire. A vast continent, rife for the taking, inhabited only by non christian non aryan savages. In other words, uninhabited.

In the early seventeen sixties our british overlords enacted a law which prohibited american colonial settlement beyond the appalachan mountains. This had the same effect as the "monroe Doctrine" would sixty years later; little to none. Intrepid pioneers laughed at it, then plowed ahead.

When the country expanded to the pacific ocean by stealing all the land from the native americans and the mexicans, it had no intention of stopping. Beyond the pacific lay the vast continemt of asia, inhabited only by non christian savages, who needed civilizing, just like every other victim of white american conquest.

The white race had originated somewhere near mesopotamia, separate but superior to all other races, so the mythology goes, and spread into europe, across the english channel, across the atlantic, all the way to the pacific. The pacific, eight times larger than the atlantic, presented a somewhat bigger challenge than the atlantic, and was populated by peoples somewhat more organized than the native americans,; but no matter, american mechanized firepower and industrial might had increased, and would be equal to the task. 

missionaries brought jesus christ and various diseases to hawaii, and with these weapons  nearly exterminated, then conquered the healthy, happy, long established culture. mark twain remarked that since the native hawaiians had nearly been exterminated, it might be expedient to send a few more christian missionaries and finish the job.

A bit later the united states started a phony war against spain, which allowed the empire to spread to cuba, puerto rico, and the phillipines. The strategy; start a phony war then steal the land from the defeated enemies, had worked splendidly against mexcio, why not try it against spain? President polk had even considered the possibility of taking mexico itself, but since its people were not milky white, why bother? texas, new mexico, arizona, colorado, and california would have to suffice.

When the chinese rose up and kicked out all foreign invaders in 1900, and the japanese showed surpsising military strength in 1905 in a war against russia, and world war one distracted american empire building in 1917 adn 1918, cooler heads prevailed, and the thrust into asia was slowed a bit, only to resume with another phony war, this time against japan, in 1941. Entice 'em to attack pearl harbor, then crush 'em.

vietnam, iraq, afghanistan; the beat goes on. But empire building leads to empire maintaining, and as the english finally figured out, sometimes it just aint worth it. Maybe someday the united states will learn the same lesson, and the lesson may just now be beginning.