Throughout most of history America, named for the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, referred to the entire contiguous land mass between the two poles. North and South America were considered subcontinents of one "America."
Today many of us use the label to refer to the United States alone, and see our northern and southern neighbors as foreigners.
In truth, we are inseparably linked to each other, an amazing mix of indigenous peoples who have lived there for millennia along with more recent immigrants from all over the globe. We've engaged in countless wars of conquest of native peoples and far too many against our neighboring states, especially Mexico. We have also engaged in trade wars that have harmed millions of our neighbors and we have often treated asylum seekers with inhospitality and cruelty.
Isn't it time to reframe that picture, and to see all of the peoples of the western hemisphere as an integral part of a common humanity? And to see the entire world as one shrinking and interconnected global village?
In truth, we are inseparably linked to each other, an amazing mix of indigenous peoples who have lived there for millennia along with more recent immigrants from all over the globe. We've engaged in countless wars of conquest of native peoples and far too many against our neighboring states, especially Mexico. We have also engaged in trade wars that have harmed millions of our neighbors and we have often treated asylum seekers with inhospitality and cruelty.
Isn't it time to reframe that picture, and to see all of the peoples of the western hemisphere as an integral part of a common humanity? And to see the entire world as one shrinking and interconnected global village?
"God has made of one blood every nation to dwell on all the face of the earth..." - Acts 17:26
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