Rhetorical questions deserve rhetorical answers. Terminology: "Nations"
are different from "countries". The old vanished DDR always wanted to be a
nation and never was; it was a "country" however.
Recently, where enough time has elapsed since the hiccup in 1989, one may
feel what is left in the German "new states" forms a new nation again, besides
the official Germany. Wthin Germany, there is the Sorbic nation, just to name a
more acceptable example.
Whether Panamá TODAY is a nation is difficult to tell. For me it appears
often as if the Spanish-speaking Latin America is one nation. Usually nations
form under external pressure when a basis for a common identity is sought. The
case of the U.S. is exceptional in that it served as a valve for the suppressed,
deprivileged - also this is changing as we see nowadays...
Wolfgang
The Americas are difficult for Europeans, and
Europe is difficult for Americans.
We usually think of European nations
as being very "old," while the Americas are
very "young."
However, the last completely new country on the American
continents
(not counting a few existing colonies that got independence) is
Panamá,
which was 102 years ago! How many new countries has Europe hatched in
that time? [rhetorical question]
Lowell G.
McManus
Leesville, Louisiana, USA
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