A very Ironic thing has happened. In my blog bumper stickers I mentioned cows in a simpsons episode that walked off a cliff.. well the episode was on tonight. It wasn't the simpsons it was south park, and they didn't just walk off for nothing, it was a mass suicide brought on by religion. Now though I was not quite correct in the particulars, I believe the message I was trying to get across, got across..





any thoughts?
 

Hey John,

I've noted a decrease in stickers too, but don't think a lack of individualism is the cause. I have to wonder if some people are afraid to state their viewpoints boldly, thinking those in opposition might stab a tire with a blade, perhaps, or key their car. Polarity in this country has become so very pronounced that it's often difficult to discuss opposing viewpoints in a calm and rational manner. Somewhere along the way many people became either _for_ something or _against_ it, with little wiggle room in between.

Bush was, in part, instrumental in this.. with his "You're either for us, or against us" comment around the war in Iraq.

Many issues have been made "hot-button" issues by the government. In my mind, this is to pulll focus away from more important issues, such as health care.

Abortion is one such issue. Last evening we saw a news story about the _last_ women's clinic in Mississippi which provides abortions to women who choose to terminate a pregnancy. There was a considerable amount of footage of people, obstensibly in some cases and visibly in others, who were "fundamentalist" Christian types, condemning the women walking into the clinic to hell, praying for them or quoting Bible verse. Doctors are compelled, by law, to tell women there is a link between breast cancer and abortion -- an out and out lie -- and to make women view photographs of fetuses in various gestational periods. For my part, I think abortion a very difficult but very personal decision, and I'd rather see women have them in clinics than in alleyways, provided by some slimeball with his dirty hanger. I'm old enough to remember the fight for abortion rights, and the horror stories about women dying as a result of terminating their pregnancy. Government officials in Mississsippi believe that in the next 5 years or so all abortions will be illegal in that state.

Recently I've read, in the letters to the editors column in the Sentinel, about people no longer flying little American flags from their cars -- the writers question people's patriotism. Asinine! One can certainly love their country without being a flag-waver. For my part, I do love my country, it's the government that I'm not enamoured with...

Anyway... ask me a question and you might get a rant in reply.

Starwind
 

I completely concur... though I still think of it in terms of individualism to a degree.. I would rather be the individual with the keyed car door, or the slashed tires, then the mass media follower with the perfect looking vehicle and no where to drive that isn't dictated by either FEAR or OPPRESSION. I would rather walk or ride a bike.. by the way, my bike would have the same bumper stickers. The only difference being, at least one of them would be on the back of my skull for lack of a bumper.. which is also fine with me.. :D
 

Guess if my car was old -- like the 91 Jeep we have -- I'd not care too much if someone keyed it, though finding my tires slashed would be a big expense not to really care much about. Since I have some pentacles on our new(er) truck, I'm rather not worried about the masses' opinions. I can understand how many, though, would prefer not to have their vehicles keyed or tires slashed -- it is an expense that they might not be able to afford.

The sad thing, though, is that there is fear and/or opression, part of the polarization of our society. Were we to work toward sharing common voices speaking opinion, rather than screaming it and taking the "if you're not for it your against it" position, it would go a long way toward getting our country in tune with the vision of those wise men who penned the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Star