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.”
當美國總統巴拉克•歐巴馬(Barack Obama)站在白宮，鄭重宣佈奧薩馬•本•拉登(Osama bin Laden)的死訊時，他頻繁提到一個詞：「國家」。你或許認爲這沒什麼好奇怪的。美國人普遍將9/11事件解讀爲一次針對自己「國家」的襲擊，迫使這個「國家」團結起來。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。或者如歐巴馬所宣稱的：「2001年9月11日，在全民悲傷的時刻，美國民衆團結在一起……我們還團結一致，下定決心保衛我們的國家。」