The only empire is the US empire and the way they talk about themselves as an empire, they're proud of it too. Yell one-word feel-good slogans at them like "CHANGE", "FREEDOM", or "DEMOCRACY" and all the citizens shout and cheer because that's what they've always been told to do.

Try sitting during the pledge, the singing of the national anthem, or insulting the military. The US empire will have none of that. Truly the land of the free.