Why is it that when Americans want to criticize Americans for doing bad things they compare themselves to non-Americans? Is the society really that xenophobic?

Why is it that when Americans want to criticize Americans for doing bad things they compare themselves to non-Americans? Is the society really that xenophobic? The term Banana Republic comes from the idea that a south/central American country is a dictatorship run by a small oligarchy and a powerful foreign company. The classic example is Guatemala or Cuba under the United Fruit Company. The US exported murder to central America to ensure that the UFC didn't have to deal with unions and violently molded these Banana Republics. Now, completely unironically, this article uses the term to compare wealth inequality in America to America's imperial projects. It's gross. Rhetorically, it's as if the article is saying, "We're supposed to be the exploiters, not the exploited." And it's not as if America's imperial projects have slowed down. These monsters are still regularly overthrowing governments in central and south America. See recent attempts in Bolivia and Nicaragua. I don't understand American culture. The people there don't give a shit about what their government does in other countries, but then when they're subjected to the same inhumanity, suddenly they're comparing themselves to what they created elsewhere as a means to object to their local circumstance. The writer of this article expects their audience to know what a Banana Republic is, hence the title. So it's not like Americans are ignorant of the term or its history. They just don't give a shit until it happens to them.