from the Introduction to The Myth of American Diplomacy, by historian Walter Hixson

...National identity drives U.S. foreign policy and reinforces domestic hierarchies. Foreign policy flows from cultural hegemony affirming "America" as a manly, racially superior, and providentially destined "beacon of liberty," a country which possesses a special right to exert power in the world. Hegemonic national identity drives a continuous, militant foreign policy, including the regular resort to war.

Having internalized this Myth of America, a majority, or at least a critical mass, of Americans have granted spontaneous consent to foreign policy militancy over the sweep of U.S. history. While specific foreign policies often provoke criticism, to be sure, national identity contains such criticism within secure cultural boundaries.

This is the deep-seated cultural strain that McCain is tapping in to with his macho warrior ethos, triumphalist "victory" talk, and hyper-patriotic posturing. But the implication of Hixson's argument is that we are culturally primed for those kinds of messages, and that's why they resonate with a large chunk of the American public, perhaps enough of us to make an unrepentent neocon militarist our next president.

And even if we don't elect McWar, we'll be receptive to similar messages from other militarist messengers, until we find another way to understand who we are and how we relate to the world. In various ways large and small, each of us should do what we can to challenge the culture of miltarism and compulsory hyper-patriotism.