Feel free to label me a “nerd.” You wouldn’t be the first. Winston, our fearless The Imaginative Conservative leader, does so all of the time.
In such a spirit, I give you what is below.
For a variety of reasons, I decided this morning to come up with a series of bumper stickers to defend the liberal arts. And, of course, I realize the irony of promoting the vast nuances of The Great Conversation [trademark: Mortimer J. Adler] and The Great Tradition [trademark: Richard Gamble] through a slogan.
Still, one must engage the modern and post-modern world. So, if you, like me, need a break from grading, please enjoy.
*****
“Keep your laws off of my Great Books”
“Down with the Servile Arts”
“My liberal arts kid beat up your vo-tech kid”
“The Liberal Arts: Earned, Never Given”
“Honk if you love Socrates”
“If you enjoy your freedom, thank an ancient Athenian”
“Better Read than Dead”
“Yo’ mama ain’t nothin’ but a Carthaginian Witch”
“8/24/410–Never Forget!”
“It’s All Greek to Me”
“Don’t Blame Me. I voted for Cicero.”
–Yours, Brad
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This makes me incredibly happy!
I agree with Brad that the best bumper-sticker or t-shirt slogans prompt a question from observers and they often express superiority. A few random thoughts on an Afghan weekend morning;
It’s a Permanent Thing (you wouldn’t understand)
My Parents Went to Mecosta (and all I got was this t-shirt, culture and values)
Wise men know what wicked things are written on the sky (no hope for you, then)
Ideology: because there’s no law against self-abuse
State Education: Proud to be Second-Best
Liberal Arts cure Liberalism
Failed Objectivist (I couldn’t afford the lobotomy)
Culture doesn’t grow in a Petrie Dish
Free Thinkers do what they're told
Liberal Ideologue: The Proud, The Obedient, The Shallow
Study for Employment (and a meaningless life)
Cap’n Kirk! Th’ damn fools activated th' ideologizer!
Gandalf says you’re not smart enough
The economy, stupid? (no, it’s about Kirk, jerk)
Flunked Materialism 101 (I got bored with all my stuff)
I love these! And Stephen's also. You know, it is not too expensive to have bumper stickers made up. I actually think it would be a great idea. You could hand them out to students or even sell them to fund a project of sorts.
I'm not sure about costs, prices, profit-margins, etc., but it seems that t-shirts can be ordered online in even ones or twos and printed on demand, allowing TIC to offer a wide range without maintaining a costly inventory. As the Mises Institute sells t-shirts of Austrian economists, TIC could feature a whole catalog of (TIC-branded of course) conservative greats and clever slogans but at no initial cost apart from design.
It's been a while since I wore illustrated clothing, but I could start again. (Thinks: Hmmmm. A pale blue one with Dr. Kirk, of course. And that aggressively red one with Brad Birzer in a Gandalf hat. Oh! And for sure a Barbara Elliott if I get my order in before they sell out to thinking fashionistas! Willson definitely: maybe two in case one wears out. Roepke? Dawson? Burke? Popes JPII and Benedict? Surely a Cicero – can't get that from Land's End). Or TIC could run batches of pre-ordered, limited-edition, collector's t-shirts with subjects selected initially by online poll, to be re-issued later on sufficient demand/sign-up ('fifty clicks and we print'). Either way, it's just the thing to solve those vexing Christmas-gift problems and/or stocking-stuffers for the highest calibre of best friends and loved ones, plus incite check-writing to the world's finest conservative website ('tick box to add a $100 tax-free donation to your bill'). Oh heck, I might as well order some coffee mugs while I'm at it. (Thinks: must write to Santa).C'est possible?
I would put on my bumper-sticker:
"Hell No, We Won't Plato!"
😉
I used to have “Don’t Immanentize the Eschaton” on my bumper (I had to make the sticker myself) along with one in support of local farming. The combination I’m sure threw plenty of people for a loop.
Yesterday, i was approached in a public library branch by a stranger who wanted to tell me about a bumper sticker that he was going to have printed, It was: KEEP YOUR HEAD
VOTE FOR TRUMP