ABSTRACT
National identity is a product of modernity. It is therefore comparable to another exemplary version of the modern experience though one that rarely gets serious attention: driving a car. The one thing everybody says about driving is that you don’t learn how to do it until after you’ve passed your test. You know how to drive when it has become a habit, a pre-conscious integration of perception and movement. Without reflection, from the whole field of vision I immediately pick out the signs that matter (that car’s flashing light 50 metres away means it is turning left) and co-ordinate them with motor response (foot off accelerator and over brake). Driving is a matter of submitting to rules, something you are reminded of every time you approach a crossroads (are the lights red or green?).
