Benny Habibi

The need to call a place home is a very familiar desire. National citizenship can be thought of as a unique status which offers people unbridled access to this peace of mind. Because the nation is the source of this comfort, it is not surprising that people take pride in it. But nationalism stems from the abstract, purely ideological form of a nation. This concrete-less nationalism has been a key facet in the American government " s decisions about the economy, domestic spending, and most notably, foreign policy. Many, if not most, countries involved in wars during the last century maintained public support through nationalism. However, nationalism not only has arbitrary roots, but in the case of politics, it is often falsely fashioned in the minds of citizens so that governments can forcibly impose political will. The United States is certainly no exception; rather, it is right now, the perfect example. This paper will explore how what I will call artificial nationalism is encouraged through democratic rhetoric, and how George W. Bush uses artificial nationalism and moralistic rhetoric post 9-11 to legitimize certain foreign policies to the American people. The arbitrariness of the nation is best understood by establishing nationalism as connected to and a key part of the nation itself. The first link in this connection is how people from different communities initially distinguish themselves from each other. In his essay " The Nation Form, " Etienne Balibar explores how " the people " are " produced, " that is, how people are originally brought together to form a large community, the root of a nation. Balibar grants that initially a tangible form of unity among people, through a written constitution, is established. However, Balibar states that " a model of [the