Ribbons

Back to work today means vacation is over. I will miss these long vacations that law school provides, but I almost think this one has been too long—my brain doesn't want to return to this reality. So instead I've been reading other blogs, including second person, singular (sps), which recently featured a great little discussion of the magnetic “support our troops” ribbons I saw far too many of while driving along the highways and byways of this land. Damn those damned magnet ribbons! What do they mean? They command us to “Support our troops.” Ok. But how? By voting for and supporting an administration that lied to us and the world so it could send more than 1,000 of our troops to their deaths? Is that support? I don't get it, and I don't think the magnet-displayers do either. What do they think they're saying? If you have one of these magnets on your car, what do you think you're saying? As sps notes, the magnet lets people proudly order everyone else on the road to “support our troops” even as they make zero commitment to that message themselves:

it really makes me proud to live in america, where the demands of the marketplace and innovation go hand in hand leading us to a brighter future.... because these ribbons that you see on the back of all those cars are magnets. yes, magnets that will peel off and not leave a trace, not leave a scratch on the paint, not leave a trace of that hideous adhesive. it is such a perfect solution, because in america, ideas matter, our principles matter, and we want our neighbors to know we have the courage of our convictions as long as they don't diminish the value of our possessions.

Brilliant, don't you think? Support our troops by driving around with a magnet that orders everyone else to support our troops, and if you decide you no longer feel like supporting our troops (whatever that means), just remove the magnet! Support support support! And the real genius of the whole thing is that the damned things are made in Taiwan (at least the ones I saw in stores) and every penny of profit on them is going to a handful of private individuals who don't give a damn about any troops except insofar as the idea of those troops can be exploited for private gain. Support our troops! Support our troops! Support our troops! Damned ribbons.

Posted 09:45 PM | Comments (16) | life generally