Posted on 04/25/2005 7:37:51 PM PDT by qam1
On an afternoon in Sacramento, Calif., 147 vehicles are parked outside a theater complex under a hazy spring sky. There are shiny Town Cars and rusty Ford pickup trucks, perky Rav 4s and burly Silverados.
For all their differences in name and prestige, they have one thing in common: Their backsides are pristine. Not one of them sports a single gem of wisdom plastered to a bumper.
Bumper stickers, first used in election campaigns after World War II and once a powerful form of political and cultural expression, can still be found in trinket shops and Internet stores. But fewer and fewer of them seem to be showing up on the backs of cars.
The main reason, observers say, is the increasing political prickliness of Americans. In a divided society, commuters are wary of announcing the way they feel about the president or the war or religion or any other controversial subject.
“The car is the American icon, so there was something wonderful about the bumper sticker,” says Carol Gardner, who traveled the country a decade ago for a book about bumper stickers and the people behind them. “They used to represent the town hall of the American roadway. Now they’re disappearing, and it’s kind of a shame.”
Gardner, whose “Bumper Sticker Wisdom: America’s Pulpit Above the Tail Pipe” (Beyond Words Publishing, $19.95) got national attention when it was published in 1995, has a couple of theories about why fewer people seem to be adorning their cars with messages these days.
“With all of the violence and terrorism in our world today, people just want to be careful about expressing their views,” she says. “They are afraid of the consequences.”
Baby boomers who once plastered their Volkswagen vans with slogans that spoke to issues such as abortion and politics have become more introspective and less activist, notes Gardner, who remains a student of stickers.
“Bumper stickers really became popular in the 1960s when baby boomers were out there taking on all of the issues,” including civil rights and women’s rights, she says. “In the 1990s, the boomers were turning 50 and started buying ‘self-help’ and ‘how to’ books rather than standing up for causes and talking about issues.”
Others point to the fact that more people are driving leased cars or otherwise costly vehicles that they are reluctant to decorate with stickers, which likely will fade, peel and prove difficult to remove.
That helps explain the popularity of the colorful car magnets in the shape of ribbons that promote everything from breast-cancer awareness to supporting the troops. Bumper stickers, observers say, are more likely to end up in cubicles or bulletin boards today than on vehicles.
“We all have nicer cars now,” jokes Deborah Chausse, owner of Evangeline’s gift shop in Sacramento. “I think that’s the reason you rarely see bumper stickers. I know I wouldn’t want to put a sticker on my car that might leave some kind of residue.”
Chausse drives a Lexus.
Sales of bumper stickers have steadily eroded during the past decade as a percentage of all promotional trinkets, including hats and shirts, bags and computer mouse pads, according to an international trade association.
Promotional Products Association International reports that buttons, badges and stickers represented 3.5 percent of sales of such items in 2003, compared with 6.8 percent in 1993.
But although bumper stickers may be less ubiquitous, they do not yet appear to be in danger of going the way of the 8-track tape. Particularly during election years they remain popular, says Bill Prickett of the trade organization.
Liberals tend to put more bumper stickers on their cars, which there is couple reasons for. One, conservatives are much less likely to be vandals. Two, liberals tend to be more in your face with their politics, while conservatives tend to roll their eyes at liberals whacky ideas.
In South Dakota.
Yes, I was referring to the bumper stickers that some cars and campers have. I went there when I was seven and I had a grand time, shipmate.
www.authenticgop.com
Yup, political speech is very dangerous and bumper stickers expressing political views are prima fascia evidence of "whackos" who should be re-educated forthwith.
Goo Gone works great on bumper sticker residue :-).
Here's a new bumper sticker I made just for earth day.
I do it to piss off the leftist in the Volvo behind me.
My newest? "The fraudulent bitch IS NOT MY GOVERNOR" to celebrate the fraudulent bitch temporarily squatting in WA state.
Ahh...gotcha. Pretty neat little place, isn't it? :)
I put them on liberal cars over their old Kerry/Earth/Choice/Greenpeace/Rainbow bumper stickers.
One guy at church hasn't noticed I put one over his "Re-Defeat Bush" sticker over two months ago.
From what I recall. My family did the cross-country vacation a couple of times and we went to the Corn Palace and other exciting midwest attractions, as well. There's no place like America!
Oh, good golly, I had forgotten all about the Corn Palace, lol! I was born in SD, and spent part of my childhood there. I remember all that cheesy stuff rather fondly. :) Ever been to Al's Oasis? That buffalo is a riot! They oughta put THAT on a bumper sticker. LOL
LOL! Where would we be, as a nation, without the Corn Palace. Al's Oasis does not ring a bell but that doesn't mean we didn't make a stop there. I'd love to go back and see all the places I saw as a child. I'm sure things have changed quite a bit but I miss vast, open spaces.
The ONLY reason that I still have my Bush/Cheney sticker in my back window is because I see Kerry/Edwards stickers.
I guess I like to rub it in :) to the Kerry/Edwards people.
Had they removed their. I'd have removed mine.
LMAO your car must be painted with them, else you wouldn't be offended.
Plus there is this. In the old days, bumper stickers were things like "Reagan" and "Mondale." Now they are things like "Bush Lied" (or things I can't even write here) and "I love my country but fear my government." No wonder they tend to incite extreme reactions - they ARE extreme!
No bumper stickers. But I do have a lot of flags. The sticky kind on the inside of the windows and several large magnetic flags on the outside. I've had to replace 2 of the magnetics, they were stolen.
That's one of my favorites. I need to get one.
Does it begin with: "If the van is rockin'..." ?
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