No description text leading up to the sections on this one. The title of the order tells you what you’re about to read.
(Most of it is self-congratulatory masturbation talking about how great America is, but we’ll get to that in the Section descriptions. It’s nauseating.)
Section 1 – Purpose and Policy
The purpose of this order is to rename important landmarks and art to reflect the Americans that were crucial to their discovery or creation. Section 1 indicates that it is in the national interest to do so.
Section 2 – Appointments to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names
Section 2(a)
Orders the restructuring of the Board on Geographic Names to best align with the requests covered in subsequent sections of this order.
(All this is doing is setting up the department to align with Trump through personnel changes and management changes. It is one of many instances of the coming changes to executive power, allowing Trump to install loyalists at every level, no matter how inconsequential. I’m not attempting to disparage the relevant authority here, I just see this as one of the less egregious attempts to restructure power.)
Section 2(b)
Grants the Secretary of the Interior the authority to fill the ranks as requested.
Section 2(c)
Reminds the relevant authority why they are tasked with renaming things in the first place.
(Because Trump wants to remind everyone how patriotic (nationalistic) they should be.)
Section 2(d)
Outlines the process for renaming things in the interim period between when the changes are proposed and when Congress takes it up and votes on it.
(This is to push the name through without receiving full Congressional approval first. It is an attempt to subvert the process and shoehorn the name into all areas of the Federal Government that will accept the change. It’s also an attempt to re-align the Zeitgeist that Trump is attempting to push. The hyper-nationalist, yay-America kind.)
Section 3 – Renaming of Mount McKinley
The text of this section outlines the steps that should be taken to rename Denali back to Mount McKinley.
(This subsection is filled end to end with nationalist propaganda and also attacks the Obama Administration for renaming the mountain. It completely undoes the symbolic tribute that we made to the Native Alaskan population when the mountain was renamed Denali. What’s one more slap to the face, right?)
Section 3(a)
Explains who McKinley was and lists some of his accomplishments during his term as the 25th president. It explains the rationale behind switching the name back.
(Trump uses this subsection to explain how great McKinley was and doesn’t miss the opportunity to explain why tariffs are part of the reason he was so great. He talks about how McKinley ushered in an age of economic prosperity and growth. He is stroking his ego and comparing himself to a past president.)
Section 3(b)
Orders the Secretary of the Interior to reinstate the name Mount McKinley to refer to the mountain. It also instructs the Secretary to update information in the relevant systems. The national park that is home to the mountain will retain the name Denali National Park and Preserve.
(Since Mount McKinley was the name of record for almost 100 years, this subsection outlines the procedure for reinstating the name.)
Section 3(c)
Orders the Secretary of the Interior to work with the Native Alaskan population to designate new names for landmarks and historical sites.
(I believe this an attempt to placate the Native Alaskan population for reverting to the previous name for Denali. I don’t believe for a second this subsection would exist were it not for the theft and subsequent rebranding of Denali.)
Section 4 – Gulf of America
This section outlines the plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico to be referred to as the Gulf of America.
(You can’t make this shit up. It is an absurd piece of nationalist trash.)
Section 4(a)
Narrative description of the Gulf of Mexico and the important role it plays for the United States.
(The text in this subsection appears to be taken directly from a Wikipedia page, with a good deal of emphasis placed on the trade and resource implications that the Gulf represents. I honestly believe that Trump thinks he can annex the entire Gulf like it is the 6th Great Lake.)
Section 4(b)
Instructs the Secretary of the Interior on the steps necessary to rename the Gulf of Mexico to be henceforth referred to as the Gulf of America across all relevant departments in the Federal Government. This is to be done within 30 days.
Section 5 – Additional Action
Allows for public input on renaming additional landmarks, historical sites, etc. The section makes specific note of the coming semiquincentennial in 2026 in reference to proposed renaming.
(Trump is trying to make the semiquincentennial a big ordeal where all real “patriots” get together and celebrate another year as a nation on July 4th. He will want to point to all of the renaming efforts as a means to solidify the blindly nationalist picture of America that he wants to make real.)
Section 6 – General Provisions – Excluded for reasons of repetition, you can find them on the official link included below.
(So many notes on this order…
I can’t even begin to imagine how frustrating this kind of shit will be for the indigenous population. It is an active attempt to rewrite history and exclude them completely. It isn’t at all surprising but it is heartbreaking to see we have learned literally nothing. I weep for who we have become when this kind of order is conceived, let alone made manifest officially.
If I may set that aside for a moment, it is also written in blind faith to the cause of nationalism. The exact kind of toxic, narcissistic nationalism that makes us an international pariah. It purports to wear the clothes of patriotism but the mindless subservience to it points to a traditionally darker form of nationalism. The kind that has been pushed in authoritarian regimes since the beginning of time.)
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