"Read
a political science textbook"?
Only one?
Uhm, okay. Circa 1977 was the first. Since then, I've lost track how many. And that's just textbooks. I've also read a plethora of political and historical biographies, which imho are far more valuable than any dry textbook. I've lived a fair amount of time, and seen a lot- a lot that you've maybe only read about. Don't believe the rhetoric, Shadoe- that's ignorance. Investigate and look at all possible sides before you form such strong opinions. Don't let other people make them for you, just because they use big words and know important people. No one is infallible, and everyone has an agenda. Find out what it is, and if you can live with it and all it's ramifications, then go for it. But you had better be able to back it up, and not with anything by Ms. Ingraham. She's just too much like that snotty co-ed from Animal House. (shudder).
Oh, and from Mirriam-Webster Online:
imperialism
One entry found for
imperialism.
Main Entry:
im·pe·ri·al·ism 
Pronunciation: im-'pir-E-&-"li-z&m
Function:
noun
1 : imperial government, authority, or system
2 : the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas;
broadly : the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influence <union
imperialism>
-
im·pe·ri·al·ist /-list/
noun or adjective
-
im·pe·ri·al·is·tic /-"pir-E-&-'lis-tik/
adjective
-
im·pe·ri·al·is·ti·cal·ly /-ti-k(&-)lE/
adverb 