Ron, I entirely agree with your point about hubris and Britain; There is a great deal to learn from the histories of once-powerful nations and empires, dating back to the fall of Rome and perhaps beyond. The problem is, no-one in the US government, media or industrial fields seems to have any regard for (or even knowledge of) anything much beyond the Revolution and the borders of the USA. With all that economic and military power, why do they need to be interested in the ways of the rest of the world? A historian friend of mine summed it up well. 'History repeats itself; it has to, because no-one listens...'
Tim