Here’s a bumper sticker I’d like to see: “We are the proud parents of a child who’s self-esteem is sufficient that he doesn’t need us promoting his minor scholastic achievements on the back of our car.”
- George Carlin
One of the characteristics of American culture that disturbs me is our penchant for expressing opinions or sentiments via bumper stickers. Perhaps the mere act of displaying an opinion in a manner visible to the multitudes seems like an act of courage. Perhaps it feels as if one is making a personal statement, not unlike drawing an ideological line in the sand. Really, though, all you’re doing is boogering up the clear coat on your ride’s paint job. A bumper sticker is apropos of nothing and hardly represents a driver taking a stand on an issue. Remember the yellow ribbons that were ubiquitous in the wake of 9.11? Yeah, the ones made in China and on sale for $3.95 at Quickie Marts in virtually every hamlet from coast to coast? The ones half of America slapped on their SUVs in a epic display of defiance against Those Who Would Destroy Our Way Of Life ©? Yep, those certainly represented a classic and definitive denouement to the Global War On Terror ©, eh?? All one had to do to prove one’s bona fides as a Real Patriotic American was to slap one of them yellow bad boys on the back of their minivan…and they were riding shotgun in the battle to kill Osama bin-Laden.
Ubetcha….
I see the silliness all the time. In most of the cases, it barely registers, but lately, I’ve been seeing more of these:
To which I would say, “Well…DUH!” Who DOESN’T believe that children are generally better off with both parents? That’s about as self-evident as proclaiming with conviction that the sun rises in the east, right?
Two-parent households are generally held to be optimal for raising children. The problem, of course, is that things don’t always work out that way, and sometimes families are led by single parents…for any number of reasons. The question is what, if anything you’re willing to do about that. Is the adhesive expression of your opinion/philosophy the extent of your commitment…or do you actually intend to do something to demonstrate that you believe and live that sentiment?
As if we don’t already know the answer to that question….
