America back as an imperial power

America is back as an imperial power.

The US will try to dominate nations and conquer new territories, including Greenland, Panama and things terrestrial and planetary like Mars, where Trump will probably build a thriving real estate business.

Imperialism is when one nation controls and dominates other states. Domination can be outright invasion, through gunboat or even nuclear diplomacy, the hard power of power and/or through domination or pervasive and invasion influence of another country’s economy, politics, culture or form of government, the soft side of power. Imperialism is building hegemony and spheres of influence, deposing and installing dictators disguised as democratically elected rulers.

For the US, imperialism is an irony, considering the nation was formed because it rebelled against a king (of Great Britain) during the American Revolution of 1765-1783. As you know, nations are born from the embers of oppression, taxation in particular.

That US imperialism will be back with a vengeance is the lesson one can draw from Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025 inaugural speech as the 47th US president.

What is the answer to American imperialism? Self-reliance and nationalism. We, our government, Filipinos must now paddle their own banca and watch their own waters. And we can do it. We have the track record. After all, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. (BBM) has declared the cornerstone of our foreign policy and our global relationships as “friend to all, enemy to none.” “It’s an effective policy,” he declared.

Trump’s inaugural speech was 2,885 words and 30 minutes long. In that space, he spelled out the direction and major policies of his administration and those of America. The speech was reassuring at best and disturbing at worst.

Reassuring because Trump reiterated the obvious or what will be obvious. He said, rather repetitiously and redundantly:

“From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer… America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world… We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.”

And perhaps, unbelievably, Trump told Americans: “After all we have been through together, we stand on the verge of the four greatest years in American history.”

The 47th President’s speech was disturbing for the same reasons it is reassuring: its grim undertones of imperial overreach.

In annual defense spending, the US is No. 1, with $916 billion annually, nearly three times that of No. 2, China’s $330 billion, and 7x that of No. 3, Russia, with $130 billion. In the high seas, China is now dominant with a fleet of 730 vs. America’s 472, and 380,000 navy personnel (US: 13,513). The US has nukes: 5,500; 400+ and in aircraft carriers, 11; China, two.

In his speech Monday, Trump vowed “we will again build the strongest military the world has ever seen. We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end – and perhaps, most importantly, the wars we never get into.”

In 250 years, the US has engaged in 121 military conflicts, including: The American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Gulf War, the Indian Wars, the Cold War (including the Korean War and the Vietnam War) and the War on Terror (including the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan).

If Filipinos recall their history, America learned the wonders of imperialism in the Philippines in what became the doctrine of Manifest Destiny.

Manifest Destiny pretends that the US has the moral ascendancy to conquer or redeem the world for its self-interest and for the welfare of freedom and democracy-loving peoples on earth and that it is ordained to achieve its mission. It is a code word for imperialism.

US in Asia and Europe imperialism began with the purchase, for $20 million, of the Philippines, along with Puerto Rico, Guam and Cuba, after the US defeated Spain in the mock battle of Manila Bay in 1898 during the presidency of William McKinley. He was the original imperialist president.

Filipino revolutionaries fought the invading Americans back for three years, dealing the Americans their first major defeat overseas in Balangiga in 1901 where 74 Filipino soldiers and guerillas, dressed as women, defeated an invasion force of 400.

Says the current Economist issue on 25th president: “McKinley, who was inaugurated in 1897, presided over the negotiations that created the Panama Canal. He loved tariffs, both as a way to fund the government and to protect domestic industry. And he courted, and was courted by, robber barons of the Gilded Age.”

The Economist quotes McKinley: “The truth is I didn’t want the Philippines and when they came to us, as a gift from the gods, I did not know what to do with them.” Says the magazine: “America got bogged down fighting an insurrection there. For Mr. Trump, the point of territorial expansion is clear. (And extraterrestrial too – he thinks it is the country’s manifest destiny to plant its flag on Mars.) America must be ‘a growing nation’ once again.”

Item: The Manila Overseas Press Club will have its “PNP Night” on Feb. 4, 2025 at the Manila Polo Club, with PNP Chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil as guest speaker. Interested parties please contact Dena: 0920-204-9229.

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