ABSTRACT
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown. Fear of the unknown plays a significant role in global politics. Fear is not the first thing we typically think about when we think about patriotism. This is because patriotism is traditionally understood as national loyalty that takes the form of love, devotion, support and the defence of one's country. In this chapter, the author examines one of the most iconic forms of visual media through which diversity patriotism was circulated immediately after 11 September 2001: the American Advertising Council's "I am an American" public service announcement. By discussing the visual strategies employed in the ad, the author explores how diversity patriotism – which would appear to be antithetical to fear-based patriotism – is premised upon fear-based patriotism.
