When American president Barack Obama stood in the White House last week to announce solemnly the death of Osama bin Laden, there was one word that peppered his speech: “nation”. Little surprise there, you might think. The events of 9/11 were widely perceived by Americans to be an attack on their “nation”, which duly forced that “nation” to pull together. And last week’s dramatic killing rallied the “nation” once again – albeit this time in celebration. Or as Obama declared: “On September 11 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together … we were also united in our resolve to protect our nation.”
當(dāng)美國總統(tǒng)巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)站在白宮,鄭重宣布奧薩馬?本?拉登(Osama bin Laden)的死訊時,他頻繁提到一個詞:“國家”。你或許認(rèn)為這沒什么好奇怪的。美國人普遍將9/11事件解讀為一次針對自己“國家”的襲擊,迫使這個“國家”團(tuán)結(jié)起來。此次本?拉登戲劇性地被擊斃,再次將這個“國家”號召起來——只不過這一次是慶祝。或者如奧巴馬所宣稱的:“2001年9月11日,在全民悲傷的時刻,美國民眾團(tuán)結(jié)在一起……我們還團(tuán)結(jié)一致,下定決心保衛(wèi)我們的國家。”