American history

I am still stuck a bit on this name change up here at the Base, was talking to a coworker about it today. I do not know for sure, but I think part of the reason it is bothering me is that it seems to be part of an effort to disassociate this place from its links to the United States. These links die out slowly on their own, but certainly a name change pushes that along nicely.

Of course I know this interpretation stems from my own insecurity that everyone here disapproves of the United States. American history is full of events that range from not so great to downright despicable, from the slaughtering of Native Americans to the advent of the assembly line industrial plants, not to mention our forays abroad through the military and popular culture. I am appalled by so much of it, and yet still, I hate being judged on that basis, on the basis of being an American. Because it is still my country, always will be. 

And really, that is what the election of Obama was all about. Making all of that past virtually meaningless, because he shows us that we are not tied to our past, our past does not determine our future. 

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