Communique "Bumper Sticker Up Yours" 8-2-2021
While I was stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to turn, I saw a bumper sticker pasted on the back window of the car in front of me. It said, in black letters on a white background “In God We Trust”. Usually, I would take no particular note of such a seemingly innocuous and far from controversial message that in many ways, I could imagine many persons, myself included, sharing the sentiment, although truth be told the last time I had a bumper sticker on my rear fender it was for a KLOS classic rock station promotion.
The idea was if you had the KLOS rainbow logo on your car and if one of the KLOS cars saw it you would be the winner of a set of free tickets to whatever concert they happened to be giving away that week. If memory serves correct, I was quite interested in scoring a pair of tix to that week’s offering, an Eddie Money opening for Cheap Trick extravaganza that and again, if memory serves correct was at the Greek Theater.
Alas, it was not to be and in a fit of pique I removed the bumper sticker the very next week. Further, I have never had any signage of any kind on any car, or to be more accurate truck, I have owned including by design those containing a political message.
So you might be asking, why did this seemingly innocuous free advertisement for our Creator, not being sure what he is selling and all, but probably more of a personal “I want you to know…” statement from the driver that for some reason led me to question whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
You see, in this day and age, I often wonder not whether I believe in a Supreme Being, but whether the owner was truly expressing, as is his right, his search for something more, something celestial, something glorious, or, was he yet another user and abuser of divinity for the sake of vanity and self-interest?
Even as I write this it pains me to say, but you must admit in this day and age where we are experiencing what I would suggest is not so much a religion, but a cult trying to brand itself as a religion, a higher institute of holy thought, that still thinks there is a nexus between a psychopathic ex-president who apparently is still holding “cabinet” meetings with a cadre of sycophants bent on being the last rats off the ship and into the waters of political obscurity, if they are lucky enough to get off that easily.
I began to ponder what this unknown person was insinuating or alluding to. The thought popped up that perhaps he was trying to tell everyone that as he believed in God, sincerely or otherwise, he didn’t need to carry auto insurance and in case of accident, his Lord would sort it out. Funny thoughts I know, but then again, these are funny, if not hilariously so at times, if it were the least bit funny, unbelievable acts of strangeness and yes, stupidity somehow attributable to the will of our Father.
As the light changed, the white something or other I can tell you it was a sedan and that’s about it, as all car models look the same to me, it might have had a propeller logo, or four rings, and I don’t know what you call the Mercedes tri-thingy, I watched as it drove straight away through the intersection as I turned left, never to be seen again. Which, as you might have gathered, I find to be an acceptable ending to a somewhat close encounter of the third-rail kind.
Having dutifully completed the weekly hunt for food I returned home and after putting the triceratops steaks on ice I turned on the TV just in time to see the “breaking news” or as I call it, the same five stories that break every hour on the hour, this story regarding the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant and the assertion that 53% of white Evangelicals will not get vaccinated because they don’t believe they need to.
I immediately began to wonder if the Guy In The White Car Who Believes in God was vaccinated. Or, was he a full on in complete denial anti-vaxxer? Were his kids in school? Was he contagious yet asymptomatic and didn’t know? Or, if he did know, did he care?
Lots of thoughts followed. Was he “Q” damaged? A MAGAlomaniac? Did I miss the 11th Commandment? Thou Shall Not Get Vaccinated? Never mind the love thy neighbor stuff and maybe, just maybe for a moment could he consider that he and his flock of sheep are mistaken and do it for someone other than yourself? Or family, including children and friends? For the community?
To end a plague that was not caused by science, but can be remedied by the application of modern medicine and save lives? In this instance a shot or two (two please) for humanity and heaven forbid, wear a mask why don’tcha?
As much as I wanted to believe I was paranoid, I couldn’t shake the feeling that these were legitimate questions to ask. Life and death questions to which a significant segment of our population has decided on annihilating themselves if necessary, as part of fulfilling their mission in “life”? Meaning, death?
And here’s one to think about. How many of us are they willing to take down with them as an act of piety and devotion in service of a false as a wooden nickel con man who seeks nothing but power for power’s sake, including, dare I say it human sacrifice? Am I wrong? Tell me I’m wrong, or as the popular meme says, change my mind?
The final stop on my whirlwind tour of connecting what I previously thought was the unconnectable came when, since it is the weekend, I would check my email one more time to see if there were any new emails I forgot to answer on top of the one hundred emails or so I forget to answer on a weekly basis. Don’t judge me, I’m trying my best.
And yes, there was one that fortunately as it was political in nature and although I’m not saying it wasn’t important, it was about the insurrection, but was essentially a plea from a group I belong to asking if I could donate money to help fight their latest good fight.
Since I believe they do good work and do not hold their quest for funds against them, lawsuits being as expensive as they are, I won’t tell you who the message came from, but I will give you their initials. ACLU. Hmmm…that didn’t quite turn out how I thought it would, but as this is no time for apologies, the topic was combating systematic racism.
Now I’m not saying simply because his car was white, my mystery mensch was a racist, per se, but several loud and obnoxious images of him whining about white privilege and his oh so many grievances that I can only imagine will be answered by the God in which he trusts. You know, the racist God, the one who made us all in His image, but then, to some, maybe not so much.
But yes, I will finish by saying I will again re-up my membership as I have done so many times before and will happily donate again when I get the 100th or so notice via mail, email, smoke signals and passenger pigeon that my membership has, or is about to expire. I promise. Really.
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