Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Bumper-Sticker Mentality

I saw one of those "philosophical" bumper stickers today. You see many of them in the U.S. and it puzzles me why people attach those types to their cars. Humorous or clever ones serve a purpose in making us laugh, but the serious ones that purport to state a life view seem silly to me. The one that I saw said TRUE CHRISTIANS are PRO-LIFE.
What is the purpose of having things like that on a car? If one of those Christians believes that abortion is wrong , he or she should practice that belief in his or her own life. Certainly the bumper sticker won't change someone else's opinion about abortion. More likely the reason that person had the bumper sticker is that the driver is subconsciously announcing his or her "moral superiority". That is, the driver is saying to the rest of us that he or she is the one who knows what a Christian is and that if a woman has an abortion through necessity or choice she is inferior morally to the driver.
Ugh! The driver must think he or she is more virtuous that the rest of us. Ha! I wonder of that Christian anti abortionist supports killing in war or self defense? Does the" true Christians are pro life" mean that the driver would never fight in a war or kill if his or her life is threatened? Of course bumper stickers are simplistic and don't give the reader the right to question (the car or the driver) the content of the slogan. That makes them easy tools for those who don't really want to know the opposite view expressed by the sticker. That's why I ignore such stickers. The funny or clever ones, I appreciate.
But I surely think less of the person who thinks he or she can sum up a life view with a few words on the bumper of a car. Hmmmmmm Maybe I should create an anti bumper sticker, sticker... The incongruity of it all is appealing.
Ever get confused and ask yourself, "Where the heck am I"? It can be embarrassing , but for criminals even worse. Confusion about place happened the other day to a 34 year old thief from Poggersdorf, Austria, and the town is still laughing at him. Yep! The unidentified would-be robber was arrested after he tried to hold up his local town hall, mistaking it for a bank Wearing a mask and waving a toy pistol. The unemployed man burst into the town hall and shouted: "Hold-up, hold-up!"
Apparently , the man was confused because the building has a sign signaling there is a cash point on the outside wall, police said. He realized his mistake when an employee explained to him where he was , and he fled to a nearby wood. The robber wannabe was arrested when he came back later to pick up his motorbike which he had parked outside the town hall. Perhaps the judge who hears the man's trial might add some education classes to his prison term.

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