>Date: Mon, 3 Oct 94 13:38:50 -0700
>From: dpaulson at ups.edu (Dennis Paulson)
>Subject: RE: Pacific Northwest

>Michael, you are certainly correct to feel that most USers (pronounced
>"you-essers") (*that* should be our name, not *Americans*) are ...

Well, maybe no. The name of the country is United States of America.
If we were to follow the practice of some other "United States", then
we could rightfully call ourselves "Americans" (there _are_ other US's).
Maybe the whole name is presumptuous, but given it, we are probably
as correct as anyone about how we refer to ourselves.

>nationocentric and rather calloused to the sensitivities of the residents
>of other countries,

Perhaps other countries who object to us calling ourselves "Americans"
need to consider the above (stones, glass houses, etc).

> I suspect deep
>in the subconscious most of us USers wish that everything north of the
>Mexican border was one country, so we wouldn't have to think about you
>people to the north as different (too much thinking messes up your mind).
>After all you do look a lot like us, you speak the same language (eh?), and
>when we drive on any main southern Canadian street, we have to look very
>closely to see we aren't in the U.S.

Of course, if you get too close to our southern borders, you'd have the
same argument....

>Well, I keep hoping Political Correctness will fold up its tents and steal
>away, but instead it's added geographic references to its
>repertoire....argghh. But it does call attention to the irony of just about
>every aspect of life.

Name calling, it is. Just like what taxonomists/systematist are trained to
do. What kind of differences make a difference, huh? ;>)

Yours in P.C., and Bordering on NeverNeverLand,
Peter Rauch