The new "redesigned" Naturalization Test from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services -- www.uscis.gov -- features 100 questions.

The test is slated to start on October 1, 2008.

They have a little under a year to fix a glaring mistake.

The questions come in sections ("American Government", "Integrated Civics", etc.).

In the section titled "American History" is this question. It is #59 overall, slightly halfway through the test.

"59. Who live in America before the Europeans arrived?"

Here would be my answer.

"No one. There was no such place as "America" before the Europeans arrived. It was the Europeans who settled the land that would eventually become known to the world as the United States of America."

I would leave it at that - and do my best not to go into a long-winded answer about how "America" is NOT a place, but an ideal. But that's asking a little much from a basic citizenship test (maybe it's not, but for the sake of the 100 questions for people of solid intention we can only hope that they would eventually learn what the true meaning of "America" is).

So my answer would stand. And I would argue my answer would be solidly correct.

Since, after all, there was no "America" until well AFTER the first Europeans arrived and began to form the basis of colonial life that would lead to the establishment of the United States of "America".

But no - my answer would be WRONG.

The accepted answers - according to our own U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service would be.

'Native Americans'

or

'American Indians'

Ok, I obviously need to go back to K-5 and do it over again. I slept through the part of "American" history that said that "Native Americans" actually lived in a placed that COULDN'T POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN KNOWN as AMERICA... BEFORE anyone showed up to even begin the concept of installing a form of government that would the be foundation of a place called America!

This is, notwithstanding, my side-point and solid argument that (as in the name of this particular blog) the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service doesn't even understand the simple definition of the term "Native American". A term entirely misused by virtually everyone in this country. And since I was BORN IN CHICAGO - I am, in FACT, a "Native American" - for the singular reason that.... I cannot be anything else.

This all seems a trite point (not moot, but trite) in the grand scheme of the process of someone becoming a newly minted American. What's troubling is that it comes from the people who are entrusted to make the calculations and decisions about who will join us in the journey of being part of the greatest nation in the history of the world.

A nation who'se name isn't simply a bunch of letters on a map. A name that means something great.

"America" is not just a place. And certainly not a place at all prior to a few rather important documents - written by people of European decent - that were then voted on.

The answer to question #59 is simple.

There was NO "AMERICA" before the Europeans arrived. Will someone please tell that to the folks at www.uscis.gov.