debra,
yes, your interpretation of my mail is very close to what many people feel
about the whole *america/n* issue.
in any case, countries, flags, national anthems, i have never been inclined
to take those things very seriously, so i'm trying to make a point here
mostly for the sake of accuracy.
in addition, i believe that when the name *united states of america* was
created, the people involved must have thought that all of america --the
continent -- was included in the territory of the new country. for example,
when italy was unified in the 19th century, if the new country had called
itself the united states of europe, other european countries would have
immediately objected for obvious reasons. so my guess is that the founding
fathers or whoever created the name of your country couldn't have had any
knowledge of or ways to communicate with the rest of the continent, and that
is how the assumption that america was *america* must have begun. otherwise,
why would a country call itself THE united states of america?
anyway, my original mail meant to correct some misinformation on americo
vespucio and to express my surprise at what i had read in the NYT. i don't
feel any antipathy towards US people per se; although at the moment i might
be an indirect victim of the US foreign policy, i am looking forward to
visiting the states and my friends there again, whenever that may happen.
wallyK
