It's funny because the US right wing (and a huge part of it's so-called left, too) keeps trying to portray US global military power as the opposite. As charity for us ungrateful Canadians and Europeans

It's completely backwards from how people usually perceive empires. And from what it is. Which is a projection of power to ensure the supremacy of American capital interests.

Which is why US GDP per capita etc is incredibly high compared to the rest of the G7. It's not because they're smarter or better than the rest of us. It's because they've built the world order around themselves. By, as you say, exporting that military protection.

The US exports military dominance, and it gets paid in having its currency, regulatory needs / environment, etc. dominate almost everywhere.

(Whether this actually benefits the regular American worker vs its own wealthy business class is a whole other discussion, and may explain why this has become such a fertile ground for rage and frustration among Americans)