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May 27, 2005
Everything I Know About You I Learned From Your Car
In case you haven't been on the highways and by-ways of North America in the last three and a half years, you might be the one lone soul left untouched by the magnetic ribbon phenomenon. In the event that you are that sad loner, perhaps I should briefly explain. It's a ribbon, see, and it's magnetic...are you with me so far? I imagine these were originally made by loving hands in cottages (i.e. the cottage industry...for those of you who have always wondered what this meant), but have now become so incredibly popular that they're probably mass produced in airport hangers, graphically designed by oompa loompas, and sold by the gross...like bottle rockets. If this is all seeming a bit deja vu, you're right...it happened ten years ago and we called it WWJD.
Anyway, these ribbons come in every color and endorse every generic theme possible. There's a "Support our Troops" ribbon, a "God Bless the USA" ribbon, and a "These Colors Don't Run" ribbon, but these magnets aren't limited to unabashed nationalism. You've got your various cancers represented, a smattering of military-specific organizations acknowledged, a call for organ donation, a reminder to not forget our POW's and MIA's, and even one that simply says "Support Peace," although I've never seen one on a car (at least not in the South). The proverbial Pandora's Box has been thrown wide open and everyone who's anyone is sporting a magnetic ribbon (or two) that will allow you (in the car following a bit too closely) a brief glimpse at what it is that makes them tick.
And maybe that's my biggest problem with these magnets. It seems that we, in the United States of Exploitation, have opted for an easy way out when it comes to the causes we support. Really, we're busy people, and in reality it's much easier to slap a magnet on the back of the SUV than actually do something about bringing the troops home, or raising money for cancer research, or bettering the country (or community?) we live in. Maybe these ribbons are just a way to make us feel better about ourselves, to make us feel better about our friends or the people around us in traffic. "Honey, did you see the Johnson's put a 'God Bless America' ribbon on the back of their Hummer? I told you they were our kind of people." We've reduced our morality to a piece of brightly colored plastic, while our understanding of what being a change agent means is stuck against the bumper.
I remember standing 'round / in a vacant corner of some playground / hoping we would get you back / dying to make contact, contact, contact...with America
| By micah | 5:14 PM