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.”
当美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)站在白宫，郑重宣布奥萨马•本•拉登(Osama bin Laden)的死讯时，他频繁提到一个词：“国家”。你或许认为这没什么好奇怪的。美国人普遍将9/11事件解读为一次针对自己“国家”的袭击，迫使这个“国家”团结起来。此次本•拉登戏剧性地被击毙，再次将这个“国家”号召起来——只不过这一次是庆祝。或者如奥巴马所宣称的：“2001年9月11日，在全民悲伤的时刻，美国民众团结在一起……我们还团结一致，下定决心保卫我们的国家。”