“A national anthem is a universal sign of particularity. The conventions of the oeuvre demand that the uniqueness of the nation be celebrated in a universally stylized manner. National anthems not only fit a common pattern, but it is part of their symbolism that they are seen to do so. They flag the nation as a nation among nations, as flags themselves do.”

— Michael Billig

Source: Banal Nationalism (1995), p. 86

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "A national anthem is a universal sign of particularity. The conventions of the oeuvre demand that the uniqueness of the…" by Michael Billig?

Michael Billig 3

British psychologist 1947

Michael Billig (1947) British psychologist

Source: Banal Nationalism (1995), p. 85

“(Imitating a Belarus citizen commenting on their national flag) Stupid National Anthem…. Look at this flag; Two bears fighting over a pineapple. What kind of message does that send to the world? "Come to Belarus, where wild animals will steal your fruit"”

Bill Bailey (1965) English comedian, musician, actor, TV and radio presenter and author

Tinselworm (2008)

“It is remarkable how fast and how effectively you can construct a nationality with a flag, a few speeches, and a national anthem; to this day I avoid the label "Lebanese," preferring the less restrictive "Levantine" designation.”

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (1960) Lebanese-American essayist, scholar, statistician, former trader and risk analyst

Source: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2007), p. 5

“Such commitment extends to the maintenance of the exclusive Jewish symbolism that Israel deploys, ranging from its Jewish flag and national anthem (which only speaks of Jews) to its ceremonial national days and the practices of institutionalized discrimination against its Arab non-Jewish citizens in every facet of life.”

Joseph Massad (1963) Associate Professor of Arab Studies

Ibid.
"The Ends of Zionism: Racism and the Palestinian Struggle"

“Why does everybody not sing a national anthem all together? The player who cannot sing a national anthem is not a Japanese representative.”

Yoshirō Mori (1937) 86th Prime Minister of Japan

As quoted in 森氏「どうして国歌歌わない」五輪壮行会で苦言 http://this.kiji.is/122300577584857095 (in Japanese) (3 July 2016),Kyodo news.

“Not to have a national anthem would be logical.”

George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist

"As I Please," Tribune (31 December 1943)<sup> http://www.telelib.com/words/authors/O/OrwellGeorge/essay/tribune/AsIPlease19431231.html</sup>
As I Please (1943–1947)

“The national anthem blows. Are you kidding me? Do any of you have it on your iPod?”

Daniel Tosh (1975) American stand-up comedian

Happy Thoughts (2011)

“So, what exactly are these folks protesting, and how does disrespecting the national anthem and the flag of the United States of America have to do with any of this? Doggone, like the United Negro College Fund commercial used to say, “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.””

Allen West (politician) (1961) American politician; retired United States Army officer

2010s, Folks, you’re missing the point about the NFL protests (19 October 2017)

“No nation is immune to dangerous and disruptive weather patterns, so every nation is going to have to do its part.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2014, Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Town Hall (April 2014)
Context: No nation is immune to dangerous and disruptive weather patterns, so every nation is going to have to do its part. And the United States is ready to do ours. Last year, I introduced America’s first-ever Climate Action Plan to use more clean energy and less dirty energy, and cut the dangerous carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. So we want to cooperate with countries in Southeast Asia to do the same, to combat the destruction of our forests. We can’t condemn future generations to a planet that is beyond fixing. We can only do that together.

“There will be no national flags or other kinds of flags designed to specify cross-strait relations inside or outside the offices because we are not foreign nations to each other.”

Ma Ying-jeou (1950) Taiwanese politician, president of the Republic of China

Ma Ying-jeou (2013) cited in: " Ma defends cross-strait offices proposal http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/04/24/2003560582" in The Taipei Times, 24 April 2013.
Statement made in interview with Chinese-language United Evening News in response to the establishment of reciprocal representative office between Taiwan and Mainland China, in which Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation office will be established in Mainland China, while Mainland China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits office will be established in Taiwan, 23 April 2013.
Strait issues

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Michael Billig 3

Related quotes

Related topics