You're absolutely right about that. I think the point the author makes that it's England's colonial history that gives it a leg up with the locals is right on.
Just like the subjects of the Roman Empire preferred Roman citizenship to the citizenship of their homeland, subjects of the British Empire felt much the same. Can you imagine how awful the situation in India must have been for a divided classes loving society like England to be appalled?
The article doesn't mention though that the Americans are loved in the North, where an appreciation of grit, tenacity and wariness are truly great.
It is to our credit that we're not bent on Empire, and that all we ask (in the words of C. Powell) is for enough land to bury our dead.