Why seek to change history?

We used to have an Empire - fact.  We no longer have one - fact.  One of the most common type of honour given to the ordinary man or woman in the street is the MBE, OBE or CBE - all of which are ranks of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. So given that we no longer have one (an Empire that is) does this any longer make sense - should we replace it with something more relevant to our current position in the world?  Or should we embrace our past - the good and the bad of it - and leave things as they are?  Like I say, we had an Empire - fact - why deny it?