To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Friday, May 06, 2005
An Observation
Made a quick stop in at my favorite "grocery store", and I noticed something while in the parking lot. (Yeah, yeah... many of you probably know this already.) Many of the cars in the parking lot had bumper stickers on them, and, almost without exception, they were all either neutral ("My kid is an honor student" kind of stuff) or liberal in their slant. Upon reflection, I seem to recall the same thing at the other tofu-muncher hangout in town.
So... what's the deal? (And, no... it's not just that we live in the Blue Island known as Austin... ) With few exceptions (there always has to be someone who ruins my stereotypes), most bumper stickers/window stickers/etc. are neutral or liberal. (The ribbons, on the other hand, tend to be pro-military or certain advocacy groups- breast cancer awareness being the most prevalent). There was a bit of a pro-USA slant shortly after 9/11, but the invasion of Iraq took care of that.
Well, here's my take on it. (The three progressives who read my blog need to take a nerve pill right now, 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm going to be jumping on it... HARD.) Liberals need validation of their viewpoints, and they feel compelled to make as many converts as possible. They need to make sure everyone knows exactly how they feel about whatever it is they feel strongly about. So, they put it out there for the world to see.
I hate to say it, but they might be on to something. For a long time, conservatives have been pretty silent on what they really think (probably because they were afraid of being seen as nut cases), and everyone has heard the term "silent majority" from time to time. But... maybe... just maybe... conservatives need to start putting their views out there for the world to see. Perhaps then, once the silent ones realize it's ok to be vocal, then the silent majority will be silent no more.
And we can start here. (If you know of non-cafe press sites where you can get stuff, put it in the comments- I'm not very happy with some of the things they lump together in their search parameters).
So... what's the deal? (And, no... it's not just that we live in the Blue Island known as Austin... ) With few exceptions (there always has to be someone who ruins my stereotypes), most bumper stickers/window stickers/etc. are neutral or liberal. (The ribbons, on the other hand, tend to be pro-military or certain advocacy groups- breast cancer awareness being the most prevalent). There was a bit of a pro-USA slant shortly after 9/11, but the invasion of Iraq took care of that.
Well, here's my take on it. (The three progressives who read my blog need to take a nerve pill right now, 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm going to be jumping on it... HARD.) Liberals need validation of their viewpoints, and they feel compelled to make as many converts as possible. They need to make sure everyone knows exactly how they feel about whatever it is they feel strongly about. So, they put it out there for the world to see.
I hate to say it, but they might be on to something. For a long time, conservatives have been pretty silent on what they really think (probably because they were afraid of being seen as nut cases), and everyone has heard the term "silent majority" from time to time. But... maybe... just maybe... conservatives need to start putting their views out there for the world to see. Perhaps then, once the silent ones realize it's ok to be vocal, then the silent majority will be silent no more.
And we can start here. (If you know of non-cafe press sites where you can get stuff, put it in the comments- I'm not very happy with some of the things they lump together in their search parameters).
