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Ellie Kona's avatar

So we are looking for the 20,000 BC Project.

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Stuart Attewell (Paris, Fr)'s avatar

Indeed...and for a little more respect for the history of the land in its entirety and for those who were here from the start. Building a bridge to the whole of the past would give a firmer base to our perspective of who we are, what it means to be an American and where we go from here.

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Ellie Kona's avatar

"American," which reminds me that in fact there are two entire continents of America comprised of 42 different countries. Bit of bothersome hegemony.

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Lynell(VA by way of MD&DC)'s avatar

I often cringe when I hear "America" as a descriptor to include only those who are a part of the USA

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daria (MID)'s avatar

Which is why I frequently use the term US Americans or US rather than America.

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Lynell(VA by way of MD&DC)'s avatar

Morning, Daria!! Yes, I try to stay cognizant as I write along.

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TPJ (MA)'s avatar

Morning Lynell!! In Europe around 1800, if someone said that an American was coming to dinner, people assumed that s/he was a Spanish speaker. My, how times have changed.

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Lynell(VA by way of MD&DC)'s avatar

Afternoon, TPJ!! It'd be easier if we were all mutts!

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Camilla B. (GA)'s avatar

Lynell, you mean we arenтАЩt? ЁЯШп

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Lynell(VA by way of MD&DC)'s avatar

You're probably right, Camilla, but some would argue their pedigree to the nth degree!

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TPJ (MA)'s avatar

A breed is just a breed. Mutts are unique.

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Annie D Stratton's avatar

Or used as if somehow the USA (or the land it occupies) is representative of the entire western hemisphere. That rankles too.

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TPJ (MA)'s avatar

Plus all the First Nations.

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Stuart Attewell (Paris, Fr)'s avatar

True but there used to be 13 colonies too. Lines on the map that the white Europeans invaders' dreams of conquest have imposed on an existing, none fully delineated fabric....for the time being!

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Lynell(VA by way of MD&DC)'s avatar

You're on fire today, Stuart! I'm with you about the "Lines" we people draw.

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TPJ (MA)'s avatar

Even colonies had colonies. Cf. Maine, Vermont, the Western Reserve.

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Lynell(VA by way of MD&DC)'s avatar

Oh, wait! Who coined the term "America" anyway?

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Stuart Attewell (Paris, Fr)'s avatar

Amerigo Vespucci and his accounts of his travels seems to have the best claim.

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TPJ (MA)'s avatar

Martin Waldseemuller, a German geographer living in what is now France, with his 1507 map of the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Waldseem%C3%BCller

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David of Missouri's avatar

Try this pronunciation with everyone you see this week: (╟Оmer├нc┼Н)

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Richard B (Norfolk, UK)'s avatar

And why stop there? The presence of human beings is a mere blink of timeтАЩs eye. The dinosaurs ruled for millions of years before us and lasted far far longer than we can ever hope to survive. So why not the dinosaur project (which fits neatly with the attitude of the Trump republicans)?

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Joan Friedman (MA, from NY)'s avatar

Carl Sagan once said that if you really want to make an apple pie from scratch, you have to start by creating the universe.

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TPJ (MA)'s avatar

Aim high, Ellie. The Big Bang Project.

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Ellie Kona's avatar

You writing?

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TPJ (MA)'s avatar

Um . . . It's all I can do to finish a one-paragraph review. And submitting on time? Once in a blue moon.

Big History is a burgeoning field. It takes the story from the Big Bang up to the future. Cf. David Christian and Cynthia Stokes Brown.

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