[J-French21291]

It does seem odd that the US refers to itself by two names, one that is ours and one that is not. I think the reason we thoughtlessly co-opt 'America' is our obsession with our 'discovery' as a continent. The US has a great cultural occupation with the stories, often conflicting, of the way intrepid explorers landed on our shores and established 'civilization' as we know it. One of the first to actually land on the area that would become the US (I think) was Amerigo Vespucci. Others had landed before him, but they usually hit islands off the coasts. Therefore, he gets to name the continent. And since US citizens are one of the few groups on our American continents that have a generally positive view of the European colonization of the land we live on, we like the thought of being named after an explorer.

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Name : J-French21291, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : unemployment, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

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