Why Is It "Empire First," Instead of "America First"?

America wasn't meant to be an empire, but a land of individual liberty. Empires destroy liberty. Why must our money be taken from us for weapons and endless war? Our money shouldn't be taken from us at all, let alone for that! Why not use our money to fix our deteriorating country? Why do our politicians constantly complain about our deteriorating country, yet constantly vote for weapons and war? Why do politicians speak "America First," but vote "Empire First"? Why do they complain about our poor, but vote to make more of us poor? Since Empires always go bankrupt, why are our politicians pushing us to that extreme? Are they that terrified of us being free?