“This is the greatest country in the world, and your ability to complain without fear is proof of that. If you hate America, why don’t you get out?”--Dirty Empire loves the ideals America represents. Our nation falls short of those ideals. If you're not trying to put us on a better course and even discourage others from doing so, you don't even know what democracy is or what America stands for. Why don't you get out?

“We don’t rely on the Middle East for our energy resources; the US fights in the Middle East for reasons besides oil.”--Oil is perceived as a resource too critical to be left in the control of anyone but the United States. American wars in the Middle East are fought to control its flow.

“Oil is too critical to be left in the control of anyone but the United States; the Soviet Union was at our doorstep!”--The United States has ever been the first at other nations' doorsteps. We bring the threat and later wonder why it comes back to haunt us.

“Military service members fight and die for your freedom. They deserve more respect than you give them.”--Military service members have our respect; military policy has our scrutiny. Some uses of force protect Americans, some uses make the world less safe for Americans. Unquestioning faith is not respect.

“Corporations, the government, and the military are solely responsible for the ills of war and corporate empire.”--These entities derive their power and funding by the consent and will of the governed. The lion’s share of responsibility to look out for its own long-term interests resides in the American public. Consumer spending is the unconscious mechanism by which we cast our vote.