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

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

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

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Lynell, you mean we arenтАЩt? ЁЯШп

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

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A breed is just a breed. Mutts are unique.

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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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Plus all the First Nations.

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

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

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

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

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

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