A republic, not an empire. But is that really what you want? Because Spain, Portugal, the UK, and the Soviet Union all gave up their empires. And how did it work out for them?

You need to make the case for empire before you can make the case against it. For one thing, the US makes 10-100X more from its money printing business than it does from its legacy manufacturing business. If you give up empire, you give that up, and with it you likely give up living standards...for years and decades at least, if not generations. Point being: becoming "just a country" again may not produce the intended results. I mean, yes, the world may well cheer the end of Keynesianism, just like it cheered the end Communism. But the transition from the USA to America may be like the transition from the USSR to Russia. It could be bumpy.