It's the early hours of the morning where I am. It's dark, I'm alone, and I've got a fever so these are the kind of thoughts I'm having:
You ever notice how the name of the entity itself (United Kingdom) is focussed completely on the nature of its own government?
Peru is the given name of a specific place, as is Liberia, Estonia, and many others. The word means the place, as my name means me.
"The UK" means a place as well but, fully spelled out, it is a self-referential description of its political power structure. United: this is a union of preexisting power structures. Kingdom: this place is, ostensibly, ruled by a monarch.
The United States of America is similar, but at least retains one proper name: America.
I don't know if this means anything, or is just the curious observance of a fever-addled mind. It is worth noting that both the UK and the US are, culturally, highly heterogeneous. Melting pots, they say, though not all the ingredients seem pleased to be melting. A single cultural identity is not so fiercely guarded as it is in, say, Japan. Perhaps a unique, given name is an important point of stability and unity to hold onto in times of turmoil. A sterile description of a political system inspires less loyalty, it would seem.
View quoted note →
