A Lighter View
Public mood gauge
By K.E.H. Stagg

September 2, 2010

It used to be possible to gauge a person's mood--at least in theory--by the color of the stone in his or her mood ring. The darker the color, the angrier its wearer; the lighter the color, the less tempestuous its wearer's mood. However, since that whole science was based on body temperature, some people's rings never budged from dark blue, where other people's permanently hovered at pale green.

The best gauge I've found for testing the barometric pressure of public opinion, is bumper stickers. Think about it. How many times in the past decade did you spot "End This War" or "Don't Blame me--I Voted for Kerry" slapped on the back of the vehicle in front of you?

Some stickers persist no matter if the party in power is to the left or right of center; you'll still see the "My Tae Kwon Do Kid Beat Up Your Honor's Student" or the decal of a little kid who looks suspiciously like the cartoon character, Calvin, showing his disdain for a brand of vehicle (NOT the one on which the decal is shown) by urinating on it. And there are still a few of the Terrorist Hunting Permit (no. 091101) floating around.

I keep expecting to see a sticker that reads: "They tried a United Arab Republic in the Middle East in the 70s and it didn't work. What makes anyone think it stands a better chance in North America now?" But that's probably too many words to slap on the back of a car. What about: "If this is such a rotten country you need to keep apologizing for it, why did you want to be President so badly?"

But for the most part, central Pennsylvania has been pretty silent lately, judging by the total dearth of bumper stickers. Does this mean that bumper sticker aficionados are usually Democrats? I don't think so. Maybe it just means that we're so bewildered by all that's happening, we hardly have time to wrap our minds around the last bombshell when a new round is fired.

For example, if I'd purchased a bumper sticker bearing the message: "We bailed out banks, auto manufacturers, and health care; who's next?", I might have had to switch it out for a sticker suggesting: "Why not let illegal immigrants vote? Things can't possibly get any worse!"

If we know anything from history it's that a silent majority too easily becomes a silenced majority. Keep Dillsburg vocal!