I presume this happened because it's a convenient shorthand, and it went to the first takers. "United Statesians" is a mouthful, and "Mexican" or "Guatemalan" is easier to say. There's always "North American," but then you have to ::gasp!:: acknowledge that, yes, Canada exists.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain compounded the "Real American" issue in his reply to a woman at a rally who stated that she was worried about Democratic candidate Barack Obama because "he's a Muslim"--by not just correcting her gently, but also implying that the opposite of "Muslim" is to be a good family man and good American. I don't assume McCain intended to put those in opposition, but he did feed the idea that if Obama were Muslim, that would be a bad thing. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell took the opportunity for someone of high political prominence to address this, saying in strong terms in a major interview that he would like any young Muslim American to be able to believe, just like anyone else, that he or she can become President of the country some day.
I reveal myself as not a Palin-style "Real American" if I say something like, this is the first time it really does seem as if any United Statesian citizen can realistically aspire to that political office.
But then, I don't live in part of "real" America, or a "pro-America" part of the country. I've been told that for years now--even when people in other parts of the country were rallying around the attack on my American hometown--but it took Palin to turn it into the major part of her campaign.
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Content Warning: Political Discourse
Date: 2008-10-28 01:36 pm (UTC)Republican presidential candidate John McCain compounded the "Real American" issue in his reply to a woman at a rally who stated that she was worried about Democratic candidate Barack Obama because "he's a Muslim"--by not just correcting her gently, but also implying that the opposite of "Muslim" is to be a good family man and good American. I don't assume McCain intended to put those in opposition, but he did feed the idea that if Obama were Muslim, that would be a bad thing. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell took the opportunity for someone of high political prominence to address this, saying in strong terms in a major interview that he would like any young Muslim American to be able to believe, just like anyone else, that he or she can become President of the country some day.
I reveal myself as not a Palin-style "Real American" if I say something like, this is the first time it really does seem as if any United Statesian citizen can realistically aspire to that political office.
But then, I don't live in part of "real" America, or a "pro-America" part of the country. I've been told that for years now--even when people in other parts of the country were rallying around the attack on my American hometown--but it took Palin to turn it into the major part of her campaign.