Yesterday, President Bush closed his speech to the employees of the spanking new Homeland Security Department with these words, "There is no doubt in my mind that this nation will prevail in this war against terror, because we're the greatest nation, full of the finest people, on the face of this earth. " I wonder how the rest of the world feels? Such superlatives leave little room for sharing among the rest for any honor or value. It is any wonder so many people hate the U. S.? In a few short phrases, Bush has managed to relegate the intellectual, moral and cultural contributions of 130 nations, many of which are much older than the U. S. to second-class status. Kenneth Burke's notion of division is useful for explaining the increasing isolation of the U.S. from the populations of nations across the globe. Although governments for reasons of realpolitik may align themselves with the American agenda in the Middle East (e.g. Britain for apparently ideological reasons; or Saudi Arabia for numerous economic and political reasons; Turkey--most likely--for economic and geographic payoffs), the people of these countries recognize the very powerful divisive terms of his phrases. In 2001, Bush divided the world into those who either for us or against us--and some for a time were for us. However, he now has divided us from all others in terms of value and power. There is no "coaltion" embedded in his phrase. Britain is not part of the U.S. and has no claim to the greatness the Bush has claimed--everyone is excluded from goodness by decree. While we may occupy the pinnicle of power in military and economic might at this point in time, in Burkeian terms, I think it is safe to argue that we are "guilty" when it comes to moral action.