Begging the Question
The other day I was driving in to work when I saw a car with the bumper sticker, "War is not the answer."
I always find it interesting when I see bumper stickers like that. Because then of course I start wondering what the question is to which war (or peace, or Jesus, or whatever) is not the answer. There are some questions where war might actually BE the answer, after all. For example, if I asked, "What would you call the civil strife that nearly tore America apart in the period 1860-1865?" I hope you would not say, "War is not the answer," because it IS, and you would get an F on your American History exam.
Personally, I believe the condensation of complex ideas into bumper sticker platitudes doesn't do anyone any good. On the other hand, it would be really funny if I could fit that last sentence on a bumper sticker.
I always find it interesting when I see bumper stickers like that. Because then of course I start wondering what the question is to which war (or peace, or Jesus, or whatever) is not the answer. There are some questions where war might actually BE the answer, after all. For example, if I asked, "What would you call the civil strife that nearly tore America apart in the period 1860-1865?" I hope you would not say, "War is not the answer," because it IS, and you would get an F on your American History exam.
Personally, I believe the condensation of complex ideas into bumper sticker platitudes doesn't do anyone any good. On the other hand, it would be really funny if I could fit that last sentence on a bumper sticker.
posted by grackyfrogg @ 9:09 PM
5 Comments:
At 2:38 AM ,
beccaline said...
lol... very nice.
Although when you think about it their bumper sticker got you thinking about war and whether it was the answer, to some question, so really, they did (kinda) get their point across.
I have a love/hate relationship with bumper stickers. I generally love them on other people's cars (I mean, what else is supposed to keep you interested in traffic than to wonder if the person in SF with the 'marriage = 1 man + 1 woman' sticker gets rear ended more often than the average car) and I HATE them on my own, or any car that I might happen to be driving. I don't think anything I would want to share with the world could be condensed into a kitchy 5x10 plastic sticker.
Although I did once buy a bumper sticker I just couldn't pass up. Although never with intent to adhere. It says, "I found Jesus. He was behind the sofa the whole time."
Who comes up with these?!?
At 4:00 PM ,
grantscotch said...
Yeah, I have a bit of trouble with that one to. How much better to offer constructive criticism then to just deny the validity of a certain policy.
On bumper sticker is general, I agree with you, Beccaline. I do love (on others' conveyances) the one that says "Illiterate? Write now for free help."
At 12:11 AM ,
P said...
becca, that's a funny one :)
i have one bumper sticker on my car which i ordered online. I display it proudly. It's a white oval with a black outline and reads
NZ
yeah buddy :-)
At 2:14 AM ,
grackyfrogg said...
becca, i laughed out loud at your bumper sticker. classic...
and P, if you have to have a sticker, that one's a good choice. :)
At 5:56 PM ,
Amy said...
I'm in your corner. I can't stand the little one liners. There all so smug. There's something about just seeing the back of a person's head too while they drive around with this enormous, controversial statement. It's like a big "Kick Me" sign that they forget they are wearing.
All that withstanding, there is one very hilarious bumper sticker that I still think of and laugh...ready for this?... "Yee-Haw is not a foreign policy"
Not to say anything about its in/validity, but that's darn funny.
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