PHOENIX — Never mind that it’s called a different name by everyone outside the United States.
State lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to requiring that Arizona high schoolers be taught that the body of water from Florida all the way around to the Yucatan be called the Gulf of America. The last word now belongs to Gov. Katie Hobbs.
House Bill 2700 was crafted by Rep. Theresa Martinez in the wake of the edict by President Donald Trump renaming what for centuries has been called here — and is still called elsewhere — the Gulf of Mexico.
“It’s important to start teaching pro-America to our students,” the Casa Grande Republican said in crafting the measure and pushing it through the House with all Republicans in support and all Democrats opposed. “What better way to promote a patriotic country and teach children about patriotism than to start calling it Gulf of America and taking pride in that?”
On Tuesday, the Senate followed suit, also along party lines — but not before one Democrat made it clear how ridiculous she thinks is the mandate.
Rep. Lauren Kuby said the body of water got its name from a combination of diplomacy and geographic accuracy.
The name goes back to the 1600. At that time, none of the land bordering the gulf was what was eventually to become the American colonies and, later, the United States: Florida belonged to the Spanish, the area in and around Louisiana was owned by the French, and Texas was part of Mexico.
“But we’re not a nation or state bound by facts or history books,” the Tempe Democrat said. “We’re a nation powered by vibes, by slogans, and the unshakable belief that everything is better when it has the word ‘America’ duct-taped to it.”
Kuby said this form of rewriting geography is little different than decisions made to rewrite climate reports and high school textbooks to suit a political agenda.
“If we can manifest our own facts, why not our own oceans?” she asked.
“So here’s to the Gulf of America, proudly polluted, seriously rebranded, and only 60% controlled by the U.S.,” Kuby said. “May the next hurricane make landfall with patriotic intent.”
Howard Fischer
@azcapmedia
Mr. Fischer, a longtime award-winning Arizona journalist, is founder and operator of Capitol Media Services.
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