5/25/2002 08:53:00 PM [ link ]
Today on the trip home I saw two rather misguided displays of patriotism.
First, there was an 18-wheeler with a large sticker on the back that said "Without trucks, America stops," and had a picture of a truck decorated with a flag. It looks patriotic. At first glance, it even seems patriotic. But then you start thinking about it: Wait a minute... so, all of our great country's livelihood rests on this one thing, the trucking industry? Whatever happened to America's strength, resiliency, and tough "don't mess with us" attitude? What if an evil mastermind infiltrated and destroyed the trucking industry? This bumper sticker claims that we as a country would be incapable of recovering from such a blow. Somehow, I don't really think that's true. And it's certainly not very patriotic.
Later, I saw a pickup truck with two bumper stickers. One was a rather ordinary "Proud to be American," or something like that. Except, next to it there was a sticker that said "BOYCOTT CHINA" in large red letters. Boycott China? What, all of it? Without getting into the political ramifications of such a suggestion, if someone told me to "boycott Chinese products", I would at least know what they wanted me to do. But how can I boycott China?? China is a country.
All right fine, you win. I won't buy China.
