In the name

  Changing the name doesn't change anything, it remains what it always was. That is just the growth of language. We apply a name to something to identify it. That is the sole purpose of that. If we had called a pear an apple, and an apple a pear, they wouldn't be any different. I occasionally say the ice box when I mean refrigerator. It is the same object. Yes, there is a difference between the two, but the function is the same. Same thing with the Gulf of Mexico, now renamed the Gulf of America. It hasn't changed a thing. No international boundaries were changed, nothing has changed at all. Prior to being the Gulf of Mexico it was called, Sea on the North, Gulf of Florida, Gulf of Cortes, Gulf of New Spain and the Florida sea. I expect there other names used as well that weren't recoded anywhere.

 So why was it renamed? The official line is to restore American pride. It was noted how the gulf plays a pivotal role in the economic well being of the nation. It is a vital body of water. That's a very honest answer and seems to anger quite a few people. Yes, it was renamed to assert dominance. The same reason is being stated, with minor modifications, to restore the names on landmarks and military installations. Names that were changed for a very different reason, appeasement. Yes, all of that was to appease the "woke" crowd and make them feel "empowered" because they got to wave their "Flags of Virtue." The same thinking as any national flag, it is a symbol of power. That is what flags are for, after all. Flags are carried into battle and waved for surrender. In the Hauge convention of 1899, delineating the "laws of war" a white flag means surrender or that you want to talk peacefully. Flags display your intentions. I'd suggest, so do names.

 Names project character. I realize in these modern times we are trying to do away with all that but that is just more virtue signaling. It is why actors change their names, musicians and other entertainers doing that as well. Marion Morrison isn't the same as John Wayne! When I was in school I was Benny, later I became Ben. Why was that? Well, Benny isn't the same as Ben, right? Johnny and John, sometimes called Jim. Charles and Chuck. You get the idea. It is the same when naming objects. It is claiming ownership of something, whether it is an idea or an object. I drive a Tesla! The name identifies the object, but speaks about the owner. The flag is raised. Also the reason a brand name is so very important in marketing. We say Kleenex when we mean tissue. Everyone knows what you are talking about, even though the object goes by many names. 

  All this naming is something I have given thought to in the past. I was named Austin Bennett Reichart, Jr. at birth. I have never used the name Austin except for official documents. Why? Because my father never used the name Austin. He was always Ben. Why? I haven't a clue about that, never asked him. I just grew up with the realization I was expected to become Ben. I started out as little Ben, progressed to Benny, then to Ben. I'm the same person that was named on July the 20th, 1953. The question being, if I had used Austin would I be the same today? 

 Yes, I expect I would. Changing the name doesn't really change the object, or the idea. It is simply a way to claim dominance. It all depends upon what venue you are operating in. If I were to write a scholarly tome Ben wouldn't be a great name on the spine of that book. A. B. Reichart Jr would seem more appropriate or Austin Reichart, PhD. Little Ben, Benny or Ben? Nah, that wouldn't assert anything. But by calling myself Ben I have raised the flag, my flag. I'm still under the same flag as I was in 1953.   So, what's in a name? Depends. We were the United Colonies in July of 1776. On September 9th, 1776 the second continental congress renamed us, The United States of America. For quite a while the Spanish called that land mass the Indies, believing it was as Columbus thought, the west Indies. But, the name was changed. Before that it was Pangaea. Some scientist made that name up. The theory being it was all one big land mass and broke into seven pieces. So the question really should be, what part of Pangaea do you live in? I live in Greensboro Maryland, but it used to be Bridgetown until someone changed the name.