I have decided that, from now on, I am going to refer to the country commonly called the United States of America by a different name: the United States of Central North America.
No, I am not pretending that I have the legal authority to rename a sovereign nation. I don’t. But I do have the right to choose the language I use, and I have the right to challenge language that I believe reflects an outdated, arrogant, and geographically distorted worldview.
This isn’t complicated. It starts with one word: America.
America does not belong exclusively to the United States. The Americas encompass an enormous geographic, cultural, and human landscape stretching from Canada through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. There are hundreds of millions of people living throughout these lands. They speak different languages, have different cultures, histories, governments, and national identities, but they all inhabit the Americas. Yet the United States has somehow managed to turn the word “American” into a near-exclusive synonym for “citizen of the United States.” I reject that linguistic appropriation.
But then we arrive at the country in the middle.
The United States.
The United States is not “America.” It is not the entire continent. It is not North America. It is one country occupying a substantial portion of North America. So if we’re going to be geographically honest, why not call it what it actually is?
The United States of Central North America.
That’s the name I’m going to use. And yes, I’m doing this deliberately. I’m doing it because words matter. Names matter. Geography matters. And respect matters.
The United States has spent generations presenting itself as though “America” were its personal national trademark. Its citizens are Americans.
Its government is the American government. Its culture is American culture. Its interests are American interests. Its power is American power. But that language quietly erases everyone else living in the Americas.
- A person from Mexico is American.
- A person from Canada is American.
- A person from Colombia is American.
- A person from Brazil is American.
- A person from Argentina is American.
- A person from Chile is American.
The word describes a relationship to the American continents. It does not magically become the exclusive property of one country because that country became the dominant economic and military power in the hemisphere.
Johnny Punish | We Are Americans (YouTube)
And this is where my little linguistic rebellion becomes something larger.
We live in an era in which the United States government—particularly under Donald Trump—has demonstrated an extraordinary willingness to talk about other countries, territories, borders, peoples, and places as though they were pieces on a personal geopolitical Monopoly board. Names can apparently be changed because somebody powerful wants them changed. Geography can apparently be reimagined because somebody powerful has a different vision. The wishes of people who actually live in those places can apparently become secondary to the ambitions of the powerful.
Well, if that’s the game, then let’s play it.
If powerful people believe they can rename things according to their own vision, then ordinary people can challenge the names that powerful people have imposed through centuries of political and cultural habit.
My proposal is simple: stop calling the United States “America” when what you mean is the United States.
- Call it the United States.
- Call it the U.S.
- Call it the USA.
- Call its citizens U.S. citizens.
Or, if you want to embrace my little geographic revolution, call it what I will be calling it from now on:
And I’m going to encourage people outside the United States to do the same.
This isn’t hatred of the United States or hatred of its citizens. In fact, quite the opposite. I believe separating the people from the country and separating the country from its government is essential.
Millions of decent people live inside the United States. They are not personally responsible for every action of their government. But a country’s name, national mythology, and political identity deserve to be challenged when they become instruments of exceptionalism, entitlement, or domination.
This is ultimately about something much bigger than a word.
It is about respect.
- Respect for geography.
- Respect for other nations.
- Respect for other peoples.
- Respect for the fact that the world does not revolve around Washington.
- Respect for the fact that the United States is one nation among many.
And perhaps most importantly, respect for the simple reality that the United States does not own the word America.
So here’s where I take this argument one step further. I am not merely suggesting that we change our vocabulary. I am calling for the world to begin a serious conversation about legally changing the country’s name. Yes. I mean it. I believe the United States should ultimately consider legally changing its national name to:
THE UNITED STATES OF CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA
Imagine what that change would represent.
- Canada would remain Canada.
- Mexico would remain Mexico.
- The United States would remain the United States.
But the name itself would acknowledge something that should have been obvious all along: this is one country in North America, not the owner of North America and certainly not the owner of the word America.
- It would be a symbolic correction.
- It would be a declaration that geography matters more than ego.
- It would be a declaration that sovereignty does not require superiority.
- It would be a declaration that national pride does not require claiming everybody else’s identity.
And perhaps most importantly, it would send a message to the world that the United States is finally prepared to enter the international community as a nation among nations rather than a nation that expects the rest of the world to organize itself around American definitions.
So yes, I’m being provocative.
I’m deliberately poking the bear.
I’m deliberately challenging the arrogance.
And I’m deliberately turning the naming game around.
Because if presidents can demand that the world accept their preferred names for places, then perhaps it’s time for ordinary citizens around the world to demand that the powerful respect the names, identities, geography, and sovereignty of everybody else.
My challenge is therefore simple:
Let’s start the conversation about legally renaming the United States of America the United States of Central North America.
Not as an act of revenge. Not as an act of hatred. But as an act of geographic honesty and international respect. The United States doesn’t have to be smaller to be respected. It simply has to stop pretending that it is bigger than it is. America belongs to all of us who live in the Americas. Canada is Canada. Mexico is Mexico. And the United States?
Maybe it’s finally time to call it what it actually is.
The United States of Central North America
— Johnny Punish
The Punish Underground
