Ed,

While I understand your logic, it is fundamentally flawed. Most people don't identify themselves by the continent that they live on. they identify themselves by the COUNTRY they live in. People in France don't identify themselves as european, they identify themselves as FRENCH. The same goes for the North (and South) American continents. People who live in Mexico and Canada are not "Americans". They are citizens of the country that they reside in, not the continent. This is HIGHLY offensive to most Americans (read - citizens of the U.S.A.). And yes, while we dont "own" the continent, "America" is in the name of our country and as such we are truly the only ones that should be allowed to call ourselves "Americans"