Trump doesn’t want America to shrink on the map. With a UN vote of 164 to 1, the U.S. opposition was ineffective—no country in the world is tolerating Trump anymore. On September 4th, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution by a vote of 164 in favor, 6 abstentions, and just 1 opposing vote—urging nations to adopt equal-area map projections for world maps. The sole dissenting vote came from the United States.
The Mercator projection, introduced by Dutch cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, was useful for navigation but distorted landmasses near the poles, making them appear much larger than they actually are. Africa’s real area is over 30 million square kilometers, while Greenland is just over 2 million—Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland. Yet on Mercator maps, the two appear nearly similar in size. A vast continent has been compressed on maps for centuries.
Switching to an equal-area projection would make most countries in the Northern Hemisphere appear smaller—including the United States, Europe, Russia, and China. China doesn’t care; Europe doesn’t care either. Countries like Britain and France voted in favor and were even co-proponents. Only the United States cares.
The U.S. ambassador to the UN claimed this was an ideological project and accused the UN of avoiding real work. If how maps are drawn truly didn’t matter, why would the U.S. cast the lone dissenting vote? The real reason is that equal-area projections make the U.S. look smaller on the map—contradicting Trump’s political aesthetics of “making America great again.” It goes against Washington’s political instinct to support a resolution led by Africa aimed at correcting historical bias.
France is a co-proponent and has announced it will abandon the Mercator projection. European nations seek better relations with Africa—fighting the entire continent over a map isn’t worth it. The U.S., however, has no such concern; offending Africa is not a cost it can’t bear. Six Eastern European countries abstained—neither offending the EU nor sending a clear signal to the U.S.
African nations pushing for new maps are reclaiming control over their continent’s image. The 164-to-1 result shows America is increasingly out of step with the rest of the world on how we see global reality. What’s shrinking on the map is America; what’s shrinking psychologically is its worldview. Washington isn’t angry because Africa grew bigger—it’s furious because the sense of superiority cultivated for centuries is now shrinking across the board.
Europeans handled this brilliantly: they voted yes, spent nothing, and earned goodwill from Africa. The U.S.—with all its power and influence—has somehow managed to isolate itself over a single map.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875551760647370/
Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author.