Le Monde diplomatique: My country 'tis of thee (American Nationalism)

[Duncan Grant]

Like many of you, I search for international news/editorials about America. This is a very short (but excellent) article about American nationalism - well worth the the 5 minutes to read and digest. :thumbsup:



Link: http://mondediplo.com/2005/07/03nation

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My country, ’tis of thee

By Philip S Golub

NATIONALISM has some of the functions of religion. Its “magic is to turn chance into destiny” (1). The link between US nationalism and religion has always been apparent in the teleological character of US political discourse, notably the ever-present notion of a providential Manifest Destiny. Today, nationalist and religious discourses have been explicitly fused.

In a little noticed article published in 1999 Samuel Huntington, best known for his “clash of civilisations” thesis, made an appeal for a “robust nationalism that would unite most conservatives, distinguish conservative foreign policy sharply from its liberal alternatives, and have great appeal to the bulk of the American people” (2).

His programme, designed to ward off the threat of internal disintegration, is articulated around a mystical union of God, the nation and the armed forces. This is, in his view, the trinity that founds and gives meaning to the “conservative credo”. It is the antithesis of liberalism and cosmopolitanism, including of the transnationalised business elites, which reject some if not all of the three.
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edit: typo