Slogans -- Adilbrand Noblesword's Hall of Warriors

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Date Posted: 14:11:50 04/05/03 Sat
Author: mvd
Subject: Slogans

This morning I woke, climbed from my bed, and went downstairs for
Operation Breakfast. With my breakfast I "Got Milk" then went to the
bathroom for Operation Clean Teeth. My wife woke, smelled Operation
Breakfast, and yelled, "Where's the Beef?" Upon hearing her complaint,
I told her to "Just Do It" yourself.
I climbed into my car where I saw a police car with a bumper
sticker that read, "Operation Pullover". I was heartily enthused by
this positive message until further on when another police officer drove
past me with a "Got Dope?" license plate on the front of the car. I
felt bad, for I had none to offer, but I supposed that the officer would
find some eventually. Where there's a will, there's a way.
I thought I had gotten all of my daily slogans in for the morning,
but the radio soon told me that Operation Iraqi Freedom was still well
under way. I then saw a man on the street corner wearing a tee-shirt
that read "Got Jesus?" Upon realizing that I did not, I wondered
whether Jesus could not be purchased in the dairy section next to the
milk.
And this is what I am driving at. Please don't think that I am
attempting to make light of war, or police officers, or Christianity,
for I am not. All of these subjects are very serious and deserve
serious consideration. What I am attempting to say is that those people
who incorporate such slogans into an otherwise serious endeavor, make
their cause seem less than sacred.
Is the Buddha more sacred because his likeness can be bought at
the mall next to the prayer beads, the magic crystals, and the incense?
Are officers of the law taken seriously when they have license plates
glorifying their favorite Nascar driver, or are they rather, Barney
Fife-like, shooting themselves in the foot?
Our culture loves slogans. We see them every day on our
televisions, hear them on our radios, and read them in magazines,
billboards, pamphlets, and newspapers. In a capitalistic society, it is
not hard to understand why these slogans appear. They are memorable and
they sell cars, sodas, and telephone service. My question to you folks
is, should we be attempting to use the same tactics when selling
governmental propositions, religious ideas, or law enforcement
procedures as we do when we sell bubble gum, foot odor remedies, and the
latest sedan?
The next question, I suppose, is why do we feel that we have to
sell these ideas at all? If they are good and honest ideas and will
benefit the majority of people, then it seems logical that the majority
of people would naturally incorporate these beliefs into their daily
lives without us having to sell them. It seems to me that advertising,
which is what we must call this sort of sloganization, is usually
engineered to reach people that don't want or need the product to begin
with. Advertising is meant to entice, coerce, and otherwise hoodwink
the gullible consumer into buying a thing for which he/she has
absolutely no use.
Taking my proposition one step further, it seems to me that the
more we advertise religion, governmental policy, and the necessity of
law enforcement, the more we are really saying, "You have no need of
this, but we are going to try to sucker you into buying it, anyway. Oh,
and by the way, their are no refunds." Come and pay your five dollars
to see the wonderful egress, the fascinating and most wonderful
creation. Be astounded by the egress, just step through this door---
bye, bye!
And so it goes.
Now, to contradict myself, I must ask, if we do not need religion,
law enforcement, and government, then why do we have them? It is
obvious, from another viewpoint, that we do, indeed, need these
institutions. But whether it comes from some failing within ourselves
or from within our society at large, I cannot say. I have always liked
to believe, however, that all men are created perfectly. If perfection
is a thing that, by our present definition is unattainable, then why do
we hold to the notions of imperfection? By default, everything, then,
is imperfect. This makes the distinction seem rather, well, useless.
Therefore I will say that all things are just as they should be. All
things are perfect, because--- why not?
Slogans, no slogans, it's all the same to me, more or less, yet I
do question their existence. I question everything, though. We may
live a life free of questioning. We may have all our answers handed to
us. This is neither here nor there, good or bad. Yet, I wonder, how
can anyone who is not us, answer all of our questions? Do the answers
to all things not lie within us? Somehow, I doubt that the slogans of
this life will lead me to anything but the dairy aisle.

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Replies:

Re: Slogans - Formatted for easier reading -- Text by MVD, Formatting by Adilbrand, 23:52:37 04/05/03 Sat