Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 12:05:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: Gary E Davis <gedavis1-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: HAB: America and the United States (Antti)


Antti,

Thanks for your comments yesterday. I hope you didn't think that I
was addressing your use of 'America'. I was writing more to Evgeni
and Raul than you. Let me disagree a little with you.

--- Antti M Kauppinen <amkauppi-AT-cc.helsinki.fi> wrote:
> I'd like to
> note that I completely agree with what you wrote about the
> indiscriminate use of the term "America". I used it myself ...
> because it is... used to mean a kind of idealized community:
> "America" is what the United States wants to be or become. 

The West Side Story (Westernity of the *Western* hemisphere), in my
view, is that this is *Europe's* notion of America; this is the
"America" of the emigrant. The U.S. is trying to shape a more
continental (northwestern hemispheric) identity that (1) dissolves
the 19th-20th century Euro-American confusion of America with the
U.S. and that (2) formalizes the facticity of our continental society
(which Euro-Canadians, lacking a Latino border, might desire less).

> In America, everyone is free; in the United States, there are two
million prisoners.

This seems to be a cheap shot. Do you want to talk about the complex
of problems that have led to high imprisonment in the U.S. that NO
ONE finds acceptable? Problems of education, economic development,
affirmative action, etc., that are embedded in two centuries of
history and globalized urbanization that our society is still
learning to manage? No conscientious person in the U.S. has facile
illusions that everyone is free. 

> "America" embodies many of mankind's noblest values and
aspirations. 

I would love to agree, of course, but the larger agenda, expressed by
the U.S. conception of political universalism in the League of
Nations and the United Nations, is that humankind's noblest values
belong to humanity, not to the location that so many want to emigrate
to., i.e., the U.S. territory is NOT the solution to suffering
outside the U.S. territory.  Making Mexico and southern America an
embodiment of noble values is a central agenda, which will be greatly
fostered by making the entire Western hemisphere a free trade zone. 

> ["America"ism] is no doubt [suggested] by news networks when they
> use titles like "America Under Attack" or "America's New War" -
"The
> United States Under Attack" simply lacks the bite, and not only
because it's clumsier.

I agree. Yet, on the one hand, this reminds us that ambiguity is
normal. On the other hand, the World Trade Center should be
recognized as a *World* trade center located in the North American
Free Trade Zone. This surely isn't the intent of newsmedia banner
headlines, but the connotation BELONGS to readers outside the U.S.
who live in the Western hemisphere. And, of course, there is the
connotation that it's "America" now, but maybe somewhere else next. 

Best regards,

Gary





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