Let's say you are much smarter than me. If you managed my finances you'd probably get much better ROI. Should I voluntarily hand everything over? Notice that I am not equating you with me: I acknowledge that you are smarter. Still, my survival requires that I fight you with all I've got if you decide to take my stuff away from me.
That's what this "subjugation" business is at the end of the day: a satellite country trading one master for another. And before you start with national pride: superpowers absolutely see their satellites as currency.
And it sucks that your family had to flee adversity. At the same time, my grandfathers entire family was killed by soldiers from a country we now consider a paragon of democracy. So spare me.
A branch of my family fled Soviet subjugation. Eighty years later and the Russians are still doing the same shit.
The US has its problems and I've certainly called it a type of empire, but only a fool equates the two.