Maps and the American Identity

Yes, I understand how behind I am on these, but I finally broke into the wiki and I'm ready to do some damage starting with this blog. As with all of these vague blog assignments that can be taken one way or another depending on one's mood, I sat here thinking of the best way to address this. Having traveled around the world on my military experiences, I have never taken a strong look at the maps made in other countries. Some maps that I remember pretty well include: subway maps from Korea, bus route maps from Iraq, and the normal military maps that we used throughout our travels. I'm sure that there were many more maps out there; some useful, some not, but these are the ones that are still very vivid in my mind.

So, by now you may be wondering what exactly this has to do with maps and the American identity. Well, one thing I notice about traveling around the United States, is that maps are readily available for everyone and almost everywhere. These locations range from gas stations to restaurants, grocery stores to book stores. Could this be because we are such a traveling nation that maps are in a constant demand and our diversity is such that maps must be continusouly made in order to suit our needs? I believe that is exactly the fact! The abundance of maps that we Americans need to suit our identity is enormous because of how diverse we are and what kind of needs we have. We are a very high maintenance culture which requires much traveling at times to keep us satisfied. Hence, every map produced within the United States, for the United States is a direct reflection on our way of life.

While contemplating this issue once again, I thought of a few examples of the kinds of maps I've seen that represent our identity as Americans. These examples include recreation maps for any given area, maps of historic significance, and the various maps that outline political boundaries. In my opinion though, the main thing that sets us apart from the vast majority of the world is the fact that we have a map for just about anything, and if it doesn't exist, we can easily create one through the use of G.I.S. .