Isn't "America" just *a bit* More Than "The United States"..?

originally posted by: HyphenSt1
Yeah.. i sorta figured that's how it led to being called that for short.. but WHY..? We could just as easily say "we are from The United States" eh..? aside from it sounding silly to say "i'm united statian" there's no actual logical reason i can find..

Why do people from Mexico say the are Mexicans when the full name of the country is Estados Unidos Mexicanos (United States of Mexico)?

Prior to 1775 it was referred to as the "American Colonies", under British rule. Each "state" was independent, with its own currency, legislature, etc.. Once independence was declared and assured, it became the "United States of America"..... USA for short. So, we were known as American's before the states united together to break away from Britain.

Isn't "America" just *a bit* More Than "The United States"..

Nah, it's just a shape on a map or globe, and nothing more.

Vespucci might agree.

originally posted by: seagull
a reply to: HyphenSt1

The United States of America. America for short. Why is this an issue?

Ahem..

'Murica?

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: HyphenSt1
Yeah.. i sorta figured that's how it led to being called that for short.. but WHY..? We could just as easily say "we are from The United States" eh..? aside from it sounding silly to say "i'm united statian" there's no actual logical reason i can find..

Why do people from Mexico say the are Mexicans when the full name of the country is Estados Unidos Mexicanos (United States of Mexico)?

Because they are rapists and drug dealers; therefore, by extension liars.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

because they don't live on the continentof "north Mexico" do they..?
Mexico is a fairly unambiguous location. America could (and does) refer to two continents..

One continent of which has a country with "OF America" in it's name.. i grant you that.. but my point is that it's arrogant to claim the name "America" for our country just on that basis..

and convenience is not really a good reason either..

a reply to: HyphenSt1

Mexico is a fairly unambiguous location.

Pretty sure Mexico is a very definite country (location) with a very definite (defined) border.

originally posted by: HyphenSt1
a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

because they don't live on the continentof "north Mexico" do they..?

I promise you that is not part of what went into the process of deciding to refer to themselves as Mexicans. They refer to themselves as Mexicans for same reason we refer to ourselves as Americans.

but my point is that it's arrogant to claim the name "America" for our country just on that basis..

Nobody's doing that. Nobody asks "what continent are you from."

and convenience is not really a good reason either..

It doesn't really have to be a good reason. It's not like we had to run it by the language police. Unless you're the language police, in which case I guess you can fine me.

originally posted by: HyphenSt1
...and convenience is not really a good reason either..

For you I suppose. For most of the world's population it doesn't seem to be a big deal.

a reply to: Krakatoa

and that's fine.. but that was then and this is now.. the fact is that TODAY the geography is as it is, what used to be Mexico (most of the western part of the U.S.) is now California, etc.. things change, and i'm going to humor the already ridiculous system of "nations" and etc, I'd like it to at least make a little bit of sense..
a little bit of clarity is nice to have in language and "the states" or "the U.S." always fit pretty well IMHO.

originally posted by: HyphenSt1
a reply to: Krakatoa

and that's fine.. but that was then and this is now.. the fact is that TODAY the geography is as it is, what used to be Mexico (most of the western part of the U.S.) is now California, etc.. things change, and i'm going to humor the already ridiculous system of "nations" and etc, I'd like it to at least make a little bit of sense..
a little bit of clarity is nice to have in language and "the states" or "the U.S." always fit pretty well IMHO.

You do realize how old the word "state" is, right? Just because something is old and not the current fad, does not make it wrong. Unless you are saying you are that shallow. Which I hope is not the case here.

a reply to: HyphenSt1
Because the full name is United States of America
Too much for folks to say in these days
And United States is right out
So , to make it shorter America
Although the unlearned dont know , as you said , America is a lot more than the US
I am a citizen of the US. Not America

You have fulfilled your responsibility to ATS for today
Denying Ignorance.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: HyphenSt1
Everywhere else in the world i have been (Canada, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Okinawa) usually refers to this country as "The States" or "The U.S." but then when you get back here it just seems bizarre and self-important to hear it constantly referred to as "America" (the one and only)

All the Europeans I have met have called me an 'American' and the place where I flew in from 'America'.

Did you fly in from El Salvador ? Guatemala ? Canada ?
I never heard that in any country .Not Germany. Nor Britain. Not even Turkey in the day . Maybe thats a new thing..?
Globalization and all....?

originally posted by: Gothmog

Did you fly in from El Salvador ? Guatemala ? Canada ?

Si and oui.

Yeah. They should just change the name of every place else to 'not-America'.

The US owns this rock.


Rule Muricana!

originally posted by: HyphenSt1
These days semantics and syntax seem as important as ever, and one thing i don't hear talked about enough is: When did "America" become synonymous with "The United States"..?

I already know from that simple question, people will think i'm splitting hairs, BUT i do think that words are the tools with which we think, and when we equate The United States with AMERICA, it seems to imply an innate priority and importance over Canada for instance.. Oh and damn, Mexico also kinda *sorta* counts, i suppose..

Oh yeah! South America is also a thing..

I am personally not very fond or attached to American History as it was selectively taught in public school, and then Howard Zinn painted a pretty bleak image of it for me in college.. and now i don't even know what to focus or believe in, but i do know that how we think, speak, and do, DOES very much count in this world.. I mean, will these people who feel "a calling" to preserve the history of the south during the Civil War, equally advocate for a TRUE teaching of the history of this literal country under our feet..? About how a bunch of Asian and generally brown people had an entire history unto themselves for THOUSANDS OF YEARS..

..and most of that is, was, and will probably always be: lost.

..Why is everyone so okay with this..??

Everywhere else in the world i have been (Canada, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Okinawa) usually refers to this country as "The States" or "The U.S." but then when you get back here it just seems bizarre and self-important to hear it constantly referred to as "America" (the one and only)

As far as i'm concerned, our country has been effed since the Europeans started conquesting in general, with plenty of atrocities through the middle there, but a real gem to explain our government's general attitude are gems like: Operation Paperclip invited a bunch of Nazis into the top levels of government ("oh no no, these were scientists and yanno.. the good nazis" doesn't really explain "more than 1600 Nazis" being allowed to essentially collaborate with our government..) and we have no right to assume that our country should have priority for the international community (and ourselves really..) over our neighbors in North and South America.. What if "America First" could mean collaborating with our neighbors and using the natural resources and human-power to collectively change for the better..? is that either a "socialist" or "libertarian" concept, or is that beyond the petty false dichotomies that we need to get past..?

Unity can mean many things..
and generally it is a feat of the mind before its implications can truly change the game.


..just food for thought..

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Canada is completely irrelevant. Hope that solves that mystery for you. They spend nothing on military or foreign aid. They have practically zero influence on the world stage. Duh