Simfan's argument, if it rises to that, is that we were a 150 years ago.
It really depends on how you define things. If we were acting as by the book imperials we'd be making vassels (some with our boots on their necks, others not so much) of our conquests, not letting them boil in their own internal juices. If we were by the book non-imperial we wouldn't be sticking our dick in quite as many places (though a nation our size has to stick it's dick in things form time to time no matter how anti-imperial it tries to be).
(I don't know why I like that phrase so much, but I bet it's not good)
