are you kidding me? yahoo informed me this morning that new hampshire is considering ditching Live Free or Die as its state motto.
this is highly distressing to me. Live Free or Die is only like, the best state motto ever! how do you get better than that, really? how?
and you know what they want to replace it with? You're Going to Love It Here.
in contrast with Live Free or Die, which is the best state motto ever, i think that You're Going to Love It Here wins the award for most idiotically boring state motto ever.
is it me, or is this part of the blandification of america? who's going to hear the phrase "you're going to love it here" and go, "wow, that reminds me, i wanted to plan a camping trip in the white mountains this summer." no one, that's who, because the phrase evokes nothing. it says nothing. it is empty air, wasted breath.
goddammit new hampshire, smarten up! you're unique, you're different, and that is - can you believe it - a good thing! so you stand up and look the rest of the country, with their lameass, watered down slogans, in the eye and say "live free or die, bitches!"
UPDATED: in light of toast's comment below, i got curious about the difference between state nicknames, mottos, slogans, etc. the nickname is "the ____ state" - for instance, massachusetts is "the bay state, " new hampshire is "the granite state," and connecticut is "the constitution state." mottos are in latin, and usually dumb. slogans are the things that are slowly being co-opted by vapid marketing forces that are apparently attempting to water down everything interesting about this country. as evidence, i present this list of state slogans. lameness, in chart form (excepting, of course, Live Free or Die).
7 comments:
I like Connecticut's "The Constitution State". But, yeah, your point's a good one. Slogans should be something cool and expressive, not just goddamned tourism/marketing crap.
Well DC's is totally political and I love it. Illinois' is just gawd awful.
roni, you're right, DC's is great - i just skimmed the list before and somehow missed it.
i also kinda like maine's - The Way Life Should Be - but that's because i associate maine with being in college, having time off and hanging out at the beach :)
OMG, they are all so dumb. Except NH and DC. Massachusetts is "You're more likely to live here"? Uh, because our crime rate is so LOW?
Connecticut: Full of Surprises
That's hysterical. I mean, that's the soft bigotry of low expectations playing itself out right there. People figure Connecticut has to be the most boring state in the union, so if there's anything cool here, it's a surprise.
I sort of like Delaware: It's Good Being First. There was a big issue last October in New Jersey when they payed a ton to an ad adgency to come up with a new slogan and it was rejected by the governor. New Jersey: We'll Win You Over.
I also checked out the State Songs...I didn't know the NY one ("I Love New York", which all I can think of is the song used on the tourism commercials, which I think consists of just that line) and I'd never heard of any of the MA ones.
The DC License Plates always make me uncomfortable-"Taxation Without Representation!"-I'm expecting a war to break out whenever I see one.
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