Support our design

This Memorial Day, I recall a number of freedoms that have been defended by countless brave men and women throughout this country's history. One is the freedom of speech, which enables me to create tangent without fears of attack from my own government, and the protection of my free speech from the censorship of others. It is with this in mind that I write the following...

Over the past year or so, America's highways have seen a growing number of ribbons displayed on people's vehicles. Many of these ribbons are of the yellow variety, donning the phrase "Support Our Troops." A noble message and purpose, these ribbons are a welcome site, especially considering all of the mixed feelings toward the war itself. However, like most fads, these ribbons have become overblown in their popularity, spawning spinoffs and a lack of common sense.

Now, most people would say I am being nit-picky... and for the sake of argument, I am willing to agree. But someone has got to say something about how these ribbons are being displayed.

First, many of these ribbons have become way over the top in their design. You have the yellow ribbons that are mixed with the American flag, the American flag ribbon, the camouflage ribbon, the ribbon with the heart in the negative space of the loop, the ribbon with the cross cut out of the negative space of the loop, the ribbons that were designed by companies jumping on the bandwagon of yellow ribbon fever, who clearly have a different sense of design...

The history of the yellow ribbon is debatable, but I know it from the song (?) about tying a ribbon around the old oak tree. Placing yellow ribbons on our cars seems to be the evolution of the idea, placing it in a much more visible location for modern Americans... the back of the car.

The symbol itself is the ribbon. The message tied to the ribbon is a universal one: support for Americans. So, why do we need all the other stuff? The flag, the script typeface of "Support Our Troops", the camouflage, etc? All we need is the ribbon. It conveys the message.

The other thing that bugs me is how people are displaying these ribbons on their car. The ribbon is designed to be oriented vertically, as an actual piece of ribbon would be oriented, when pinned to a lapel, a shirt, a blouse, etc. It's not meant to look like a fish (crazy Christians), and worst of all... you don't need to turn it so the words "Support Our Troops" is horizontal. The design carries the message. Everything else is extraneous and distracting.

While leaving a rest stop on the Garden State Parkway yesterday, two cars came to a head near the exit. One of the cars was in the wrong for pulling out in front of the other. I''m not sure which. It doesn't matter. But the mini-van, with the ribbon twisted so the ribbon's words read horizontally, stopped their vehicle. The side door slides open, and out pops a skinny white guy, with a do rag. He approached the car in typical white guy gangster fashion, probably saying something like "You wanna piece?" or "You best not be steppin'." What is wrong with people?

The thing that got me was that it wasn't even the driver. Our road rage is so bad in America that it has migrated to the back seat, and now passengers in the rear seats of mini vans are trying to pick fights on the road.

Well, it should come as no surprise that this very mini-van had a ribbon on the back of it, and it was oriented so the words "Support Our Troops" was perfectly horizontal. A lack of intelligence was prominent in this one.

But alas, there's another beautiful freedom we enjoy in America. The freedom of stupidity. We can create amazing ways to communicate powerful and worthwhile messages. But we don't always have the power to completely control the way that message is displayed or the people associated with it.