Why is there an "American" civilization??

[Lord Shadow]

And actually Lord Shadow is wrong, Gazaridis is right.

There are 2 continents, North America and South America, and properly are called "The Americas" when lumped together. There is no single continent called America.

I won't repeat myself. Encyclopedias don't lie. Think whatever you want.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

I won't repeat myself. Encyclopedias don't lie. Think whatever you want.

While it says there are those who consider them the same continent, it says that most of the English speaking world considers them seperate continents and that considering them one continent is considered archaic. (and if you've looked at the geography/biology/geology North and South America are far more separate than say Europe and Asia.. which are rally one lump of land with no significant barriers)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent

While it is useful in a historical sense of 'territory at one time controlled by the Iberian Peninsula and its colonists'. In the Cultural Sense the most you would do is change the border from Panama up to Mexico and the US Southwest. (as the spanish never really colonized that far north). Please read the Encyclopedia more in detail.

 

[mossmonster]

Since when was common language usage/terms (i.e. "America") grammatically, geographically, logically or even politically correct?

Believe it or not the purpose of language is to convey a description or message, and when English speakers say America/American is commonly known that you are referring to the USA and its people/culture/etc. It doesn't have to be right, it just is, and in this case it works so it doesn't need fixing.

 

[Raul902]

United Statesians does sound a little corny but Its better than Americans, why should one country or one people take a whole continent's proper title. Theres no country called Europe, Africa, Asia. Only australia can do this because its one country that takes up a whole continent.
It is a fact most people in Latin America considered themselves Americans up till the Nineteenth Century when I guess the USA Hogged up the name for themselves. It was written on several declarations of Independence to spain that all "Americans" have the right to Self government and blah, blah, blah.
In fact many people down there do refer to people from the U.S. as "Estadounidenses" which is United Statsians.

So lilke I said on another post, EVERYBODY from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego are 100% American.
God Bless America!

Totally. No one in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay etc call "americans" to the people living in the US. There are strong ideologies behind the words. Civilization represents how Firaxis see the world (capitalist, focused in North America and Europe..). I don't understand, for example, how Hitler or Lenin aren't leaders, they were strongly supported by the people. The fact that we don't like fascism (Hitler) doesn't mean it didn't (doesn't) existed. And many other things. Fortunately, if you don't like they world vision you can create a new mod.

 

[ainwood]

Does the purple people eater come in a one-eyed, one-horned, flying variety? And how silly do we have to get before one of the moderators comes along and shuts us down?

Moderator Action: Its pretty darn close right now.

 

[Gazaridis]

Hitler's final acheivement was to kill millions of his own countrymen (aryan and otherwise), be a military failure and leave his country occupied and fragmented until 45 years after his death. Comparing when he came to power with when he left power, it's pretty clear he was a dreadful leader. The fascist dictatorships were unmitigated failures. They started a war and got their arses kicked. As for Lenin, well we've got Mao in the game so you can't say they're ignoring communism. Not that they've been brilliant successes either, when you compare say North Korea with South Korea, East Germany with West Germany, China with Taiwan, Cuba with the USA. Mao was such an economic incompetent that over 30 million of his people starved to death in a man-made famine, yet he's still in the game. Anyway, the rest of the world calls citizens of the USA Americans, feel free to mod the game but I have the suspicion this thread isn't actually about the game at all.

 

[strhopper]

oh my god not again

 

[JeBuS27]

It would appear that the folks who have the hardest time with the seperate Americas destinction are those who use English as a second (or third, or fourth, etc) language.

 

[Rupe]

Is it just me or the closer we get to release the "more dumber" the topics seem to get.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Totally. No one in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay etc call "americans" to the people living in the US. There are strong ideologies behind the words. Civilization represents how Firaxis see the world (capitalist, focused in North America and Europe..). I don't understand, for example, how Hitler or Lenin aren't leaders, they were strongly supported by the people. The fact that we don't like fascism (Hitler) doesn't mean it didn't (doesn't) existed. And many other things. Fortunately, if you don't like they world vision you can create a new mod.

Local popular support is not a requirement or component of 'Civ Leaderhood', nor is current unpopularity a disqualification. (plenty of vile leaders there...although being hated by your people really makes it hard to accompish anything that would get you to Civ leader status)

However, the names used to describe a Civ are those in 'common' usage, and Latin America is not enough of the target market for its name for the inhabitants of the United States of America to be considered 'common usage'. Perhaps the Spanish language translation will use some other name, but in the English language, the common name for the inhabitants of the U.S.A is Americans.

 

[blunt3d]

Actually anyone born on the American continent(s) north and south or from any other part of the world are American.......but since they could'nt think of a name for there country the had to take it from evreyone else

 

[pbfeio]

I KNEW this would happen if you kept posting that it would turn into something truly offensive. And I KNOW you don't see it as offensive, but as an American I am red in the face over this, and I don't even consider myself a nationalist.

I'm going to sit down and try to relieve myself with some reading; Your words truly make my blood boil.

[EDIT]
It comes off -- almost to say that my country has no culture, if you are truly not seeing why.

Sorry to make you angry...that wasn't my point.
Maybe I can explain myself a little better:
My own country, like every country in the world are made of very diferent cultures... everywhere. Every culture borrows traces of its culture from other cultures... Probably the main diference is that in your country, since it is a "young" country, is that you are still very similar to those cultures you came from... It doesn't mean that you don't have a culture, it only means that your culture is very similar to others. That's just it. With todays globalization, cultures will become more and more alike in the future... like it or not...

 

[Perfxion]

With All major sports(sans football/soccer) and mainstream entertianment(broadway, Hollywood, music) being mostly an American style. It is quite easy to see the cultural outreach of America.

And by America, I mean the USA. We call ourselves Americans, thus we are Americans.

 

[JakeCourtney]

I'm a big fan of America.

 

[Tarascan_King]

Totally. No one in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay etc call "americans" to the people living in the US. There are strong ideologies behind the words. Civilization represents how Firaxis see the world (capitalist, focused in North America and Europe..). I don't understand, for example, how Hitler or Lenin aren't leaders, they were strongly supported by the people. The fact that we don't like fascism (Hitler) doesn't mean it didn't (doesn't) existed. And many other things. Fortunately, if you don't like they world vision you can create a new mod.

Read the post carefully before you quote someone. Since when is Argentina,Chile, & Uruguay all of Latin America?
The post did say Nineteenth century as in 1800's not the modern era.

 

[OriginalGumby]

I guess I must say that at this point their are two issues. The first is the conflict involving the name. One pint that I'm not sure has been stated clearly(I've not read the entire post) is that many people that live in the Americas(North, South and Central) could consider themsleves Americans, and that it is rather pompous and arrogant for members of the USA to refer only to themselves as American.
A conflict also exist regarding the credentials that the USA possesses that would qualify it for representation in the test of time. I must say that they very much do deserve to be aknowledged for the political force they represent and the dominance of their cultural representation. We are at a point in the world where it is very, very small. The vast oceans are no longer the barriers they once were and they have been reduced to mere inconveniences in many cases and the distant frontier might have well been a distant planet. In this world we now live in, the dominant single nation participant in global affairs of all of many kinds is without a doubt the United States of America. It can not be denied. This is not to say that they always will be, it is just a matter of fact. It is quite possible that they are on the way out, (as I believe and I live there), to be replaced by the contending entities of China and its allies and the EU. The main quailifier of its culture is that it has completly changed the way that culture is communicated worldwide. This is not to say that other forces haven't played roles in its development. It's just that it started here and that it represents the largest proportion of participants in the worldwide connection. I know that the internet etc, is not representative of all cultures worldwide, but all of you must admit that it may be on its way to doing something that is at this point, unprecedented in our time. It's easy to notice, how many of you would know each other if it were not for the technicalogical innovation of the current wolrd superpower. If in your mind they should still not be included, then you could look at the other more obvious quailfications they possess, their unsurpassed military surpremacy and their great financial prowess.
It is for all these reasons that they should be unquestionably accepted as a civilization in the great game that is awaiting release. I must say that if all eras are to be represented in this game than the empires that ruled should be represented as well.

 

[spa]

America deserves to be in the game. They span the globe politically, economically and culturally in a way that no other civilization has ever done. Just because this is a recent accomplishment doesn't change the fact that it has happened and that it's a first for our world. As for the "issue" surrounding the word American. I'm a Canadian and I certainly would never think of calling myself American. Americans live between me and the Mexicans. Enough said. This thread just reeks of pettiness.

 

[Hannabir]

With All major sports(sans football/soccer) and mainstream entertianment(broadway, Hollywood, music) being mostly an American style. It is quite easy to see the cultural outreach of America.

Most global sports follow European rules.
Entertainment types originate from all over the world. Do you really think that other countries do not have theaters, for instance, or did not have them before you? USA music is still clearly recognizable either African or European. New variations emerge, but nothing really original so far that became mainstream.

And by America, I mean the USA. We call ourselves Americans, thus we are Americans.

It is a poor choice, however. You are a country without a name of your own. Brazil is also a union of states, and so are, for instance, The Netherlands, but they were wiser. So, one might say that you are called Americans in Civ out of pity.

 

[Hannabir]

I won't repeat myself. Encyclopedias don't lie. Think whatever you want.

Encyclopedias lie often enough, especially those on the www, but in this case you are right. America is one continent; the Panama Canal is not considered to have split it up in two parts.

 

[trotskylite]

there are seven continents. africa, asia, antarctica, australia, europe, north america, and south america.

where did you people go to school?