The problem with the US empire argument is that this is who we are. By that I mean that there is great promise in the American experiment, but it's been corrupted, like all large nations.

There has never been a large nation on earth that hasn't been corrupted, no matter how grand the experiment.

We could say, "well, Europe isn't so bad," but they are part of the American empire in every conceivable way.

Putin, however, is in a class by himself.

I was an idealist in my youth. But I no longer believe that humans are capable of developing a large scale government that doesn't focus on power.

Can that change? It hasn't, in history. That doesn't mean it can't. Humans were savages once, and though we can say we still are, there is a general consciousness that has developed that opposes murder and mayhem that did not exist 500 years ago. Most people, in fact, are basically pretty nice. The horrible people leave a massive footprint.

I don't dispute your core premise -

Gore Vidal addressed this directly in his book Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace.

But so far, it's been an idealistic dream to imagine a large nation on earth that doesn't chew up other nations.

This country can't even move aside its authoritarian elements, much less address the corporatist and imperialistic tendencies of the Democratic Party.