Time for Usonia

The fact that we refer to the USA as “America,” its citizens as “Americans” has always mildly annoyed me. “America” describes two entire continents. Canadians are Americans. Colombians are Americans. Why does one country get to own the word?

The recent events in Minneapolis, a city I love dearly, pushed that mild annoyance into something sharper.

At this point in history, when administration of the United States is actively pulling itself out of free world¹, and openly flirting with claims of dominance over the entire western hemisphere², the U.S. has lost the privilege of using “America.”

Names matter. They imply ownership, authority, and inevitability. And “America” has always been a power grab masquerading as a neutral label.

So here’s my tiny, symbolic act of protest against rising tyranny: let’s take “America” back, and give the United States a different name.

The Demonyms for the United States Wikipedia article is surprisingly long. One particularly jumped out at me: “Usonia.”

It rolls off the tongue smoothly and it sounds like a real place.

“Usonia” wasn’t invented as a joke or a slur. It was coined by a Scottish writer grappling with the same naming problem I’ve always bristled against.

We of the United States, in justice to Canadians and Mexicans, have no right to use the title ‘Americans’ when referring to matters pertaining exclusively to ourselves.

Frank Lloyd Wright later adopted the term, using it to describe a distinctly U.S. style of architecture. The details aren’t especially important, what matters is that this is a real word, with history, and a clear intent behind it.

Proposal

So here it is: when I reach for “American,” I’m going to start using Usonian instead.

As a refusal.
As resistance.
As a small reminder that “America” belongs to more than one country and certainly more than one government.

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1. In a recent Canadaland interview with the Canada’s outgoing ambassador to the UN, Bob Rae. The interviewer states “I mean, they’re not part of the free world anymore.” To which Rae replies, “They’re not anywhere else.” Canadaland #1298 Bob Rae Just Retired and is Telling All About What he Saw at the UN ↩︎
2. Donroe Doctrine ↩︎