Banal Nationalism In U.S.A
Aidan Mahon
Banal nationalism refers to everyday unnoticed ways in which national identity is reinforced in our daily lives. Banal nationalism is seen almost everyday in our lives yet we barely even notice it most times. When we think of nationalism we think of political movements and fighting wars but banal nationalism is a lot more discrete. it can just be the sight of an American flag outside a building or singing the national anthem before sporting events. While these examples may seem very little these acts shape our sense of belonging to the country.
In 1995, Micheal Billig created the term banal nationalism to express the ways how people show nationalism in their everyday lives without even realizing it. He argues that national identity is reinforced everyday, not through the use of the large displays of patriotism, but the unnoticed symbols, like flags, national anthems, as well as everyday phrases that we use. He wanted to show people that there were so many other ways of nationalism being shown around the country. He talks about many different ways nationalism is shown in almost invisible ways each and everyday to show people how constantly they are being reminded of their national identity. Billig shows how banal nationalism quietly reinforces our sense of belonging and loyalty to our countries.
In the United States of America we can see so many different usages of banal nationalism. It’s almost hard to forget our national identity when we are being reminded of it constantly, especially recently with the election. However banal nationalism is used to an extreme level in the U.S.A, we are constantly being reminded of our national identity everyday. Most schools start their morning off by singing the pledge of allegiance. Every car dealership you drive by always has a giant American flag hanging outside. Going to a football game and seeing a military fighter jet fly over the stadium. These are just a few examples of what we see in our everyday lives. We also use banal nationalism in our vocabulary without even realizing it. A great example of this is the term “God Bless America” or another great example of this is “Land of the free and the brave”. The U.S.A is one of the most notable examples of banal nationalism in the world.
In comparison to Germany, the use of banal nationalism is not used as much as in the United States of America. For a period in history many people did not use banal nationalism as common as other countries. In Germany, it was considered strange to have a German flag hanging above your bed. It was also hard for Germans to have a sense of national identity when there were a lot of Turkish immigrants coming into the country. The immigration of Turkish workers complicated the idea of a unified national identity.While the use of banal nationalism has steadily rose in Germany it is nothing compared to the U.S.A
A great use of Banal nationalism that makes us feel loyal and proud is seeing, “made in America” on products. Americans love products that say “made in America” because it makes them feel a sense of national pride and loyalty to America. That’s why we see so many Americans drive Ford trucks or drink Coca Cola. They want to show pride in American made companies and show loyalty. Ford and Coca Cola always use constant imagery of American flags and national values in their advertisements. Many American made businesses use many different national values and American flags in media to acquire customers that want to represent the U.S.A. We see this constantly in today’s media with American flags in the background or showing national monuments.
Banal nationalism is seen in the background of our everyday lives here in the United States of America which shapes our national identity in a subtle way. From singing the national anthem at sporting events as well in the mornings at school and American flags outside buildings. These subtle symbols remind us constantly of our belonging to our nation. Billig’s portrayal of nationalism shows us that national pride does not require huge displays of wars and political movements but rather it shows itself in the most unnoticed or overlooked ways in our daily lives. By understanding the power of these quiet representations of nationalism, we can become more aware of how national identity is continually being shown and reinforced in the most simple moments of our daily lives.
Sources:
Marco Antonsich, The ‘everyday’ of banal nationalism – Ordinary people’s views on Italy and Italian, Political Geography, Volume 54, 2016, ISSN 0962-6298, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2015.07.006.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962629815000621)