mr_sir wrote:There is a similar situation here in the UK. I understand what Avane means because even though we are European, many English people do not really call themselves European due to cultural identity. This is why there is a lot of opposition in the UK to accepting the Euro as currency. We might be European but above all else many English people see themselves as British. Its a similar situation between the Scots, Welsh and so on. They generally describe themselves by their individual nationalities rather than the blanket term of British because many people associate British with being English. This is one of the reasons why there has been such a big thing about devolution in the UK in the last decade or so.
Indeed, I can appreciate all aspects of what you describe very well. My mother was Dutch/German and therefore "Continental" while my father, very much an old-school 'labourite,' hails from South Shields, he is a Geordie first and foremost and holds a distinctly suspicious view of the rest of Britain, the more southern regions in particular.
When I was around five, we lived in a tiny hamlet in Yorkshire... my mother was always treated with prejudice because she was "Continental."
(and the fact that she was part German didn't exactly help matters either)
So yes... on all counts I'm far too familiar with everything you've depicted.
But, somewhat more to topic, I suspect you are very right in your suggestion of how the term "America" came to be so closely associated with the United States.
OK...I'm probably venturing into thorny territory with what I am about to say. So first of all, I wish to make clear that I intend no offense to anyone here from the US. Also I can only speak from a Canadian perspective, I'm in no position to discuss those points of view from nations such as Brazil.
People from the US themselves often view "America" as meaning the entire continent and they have the perception that their nation is dominent. I am not saying that all people from the US feel this way, those who are well-educated and sensitive do not, as a general rule, assume the US to hold sovereignty over the entire content.
I encountered this attitude of dominence many, many times when working in the tourism industry... For example, people from the US would frequently rail with anger because they were not allowed to bring their guns over the border, as far as they were concerned we were all part of the same land mass and therefore Canada was effectively just another state. Or, they would question why our currency, despite sharing a name with their own, was not the same, and they bristled on those occasions where US dollars were not accepted. Occurrences like this have long been a part of the tensions between US and Canada. On the macro level, the US also tries to dictate our domestic and foreign policy by attempting to influence our drug laws, or by challenging our differing policy on Cuba.
I could go on.. but I'll stop there.
It is this sort of perceived hegemony that oft makes Canadians bristle at being referred to as "Americans."
BTW, just to be clear, I am actually quite relaxed about the whole US/Canadian thing, and I genuinely enjoy spending time in the US... Indeed, I could very happily live in certain areas of the US, it is far more dynamic and vital than Canada. I will also readily admit that Canadians own a share in the creation of their identity crisis.
I only wanted to throw out here what tends to be the inside perspective on national identity issues because I think it has bearing on this discussion.
