Compare and contrast the Roman Empire with the modern-day United States

Compare and contrast the Roman Empire with the modern-day United States.  The Roman Empire often used "soft power" (ie its culture, laws, social norms, living conditions, etc) as a means of controlling the areas they conquered.  For example, Roman laws were far more appealing (jury trial, double jeopardy, etc) than tribal laws (which included such things as fights to the death to determine the guilty party).  Is the United States an empire?  How do we compare to the Roman Empire?

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