CarolC, yes.

Tend to agree with Don, insofar as the example of the U.S. as a free country is it's real power, and has also been quite powerful without force or war. America's other powers, military and economic, have been about as dirty as anywhere, and I don't really care about that as a speculative question. But despite all valid criticism, there remains an example of something to try for. We fail it, of course, but at least we get to go through the motions.