I remember learning throughout my entire childhood that “America” was the place people from all over the world packed up what little they had and moved their families to in order to make a better life. Judging by the crisis at the border, they’re still doing that.

They do that because of the American ideal that our nation was founded on, and part of that idea is that it doesn’t matter what your race, creed, or religion is, you can become an American as well. According to Colorado State University’s politically correct busybodies, however, the term “America” isn’t an inclusive term now, because of course it’s not.

Why would it be? It’s only the country that was nicknamed “the melting pot” due to all the different kinds of cultures you’ll find meshed together here.

According to Campus Reform, CSU’s “Inclusive Communications Task Force,” which exists, this will help “communicators practice inclusive language and [help] everyone on [its] campus feel welcomed, respected, and valued.” Don’t think it just stops at not using the term “America” to identify someone. It also includes using gendered phrases:

CSU lists both “American” and “America” as non-inclusive words “to avoid,” due to the fact that America encompasses more than just the U.S. By referring to the U.S. as America, the guide claims that one “erases other cultures and depicts the United States as the dominant American country.” The school suggests using “U.S. citizen” or “person from the U.S.” as substitutes. The university additionally lists many gendered words and phrases to avoid. These include “male,” “female,” “ladies and gentlemen,” and “Mr./Mrs./Ms.” “Male and female refers to biological sex and not gender,” says the guide. “In terms of communication methods (articles, social media, etc.), we very rarely need to identify or know a person’s biological sex and more often are referring to gender.”

Feeling respected?

I’m not going to focus on the ridiculous idea surrounding avoiding gendered phrases because that could be an entire article in itself. For now, I want to focus on the fact that these people essentially just made it a faux pas to identify yourself, or anyone who is an actual citizen of your country, an American. I get that America is an entire continent with north and south editions, but if we’re concerned that we’re going to get confused about which America we’re talking about when we refer to one another as Americans, or refer to the U.S. as America, then the people around you have a far bigger problem to worry about. Like how they got into CSU by being about as intelligent as a doorstop.

Also, last I checked — and I check daily — the U.S. is the “dominant American country.” I should also mention that there isn’t a country on this planet that is as “inclusive” as ours.

Hilariously, the “Inclusive Communications Task Force” wants to reassure us that this has nothing to do with political correctness.

“The guide is not about political-correctness or policing grammar, but rather helping communicators practice inclusive language and helping everyone on our campus feel welcomed, respected, and valued,” the guide reads.

I can tell you that not calling me an American would make me feel a bit disrespected. I live in the greatest country on the planet where millions have died in order to give me the life I have and the privilege to call myself an American. I’m not overly concerned about someone who is not a U.S. citizen getting their feelings hurt because I wasn’t specifically referring to their part of the Americas they hail from when I used generalized language. I think they’ll be fine. In fact, I don’t think the vast majority would care.

This “task force” isn’t doing this to save the feelings of others, they’re doing this because words like “America” or gendered pronouns are offensive to their ideological makeup, not everyone else’s.

Proudly call yourself an America. Mr. or Mrs. American, in fact.