Should this be profound? I feel like it should. A site called bumperstickerphilosophy.com should start out with a less than subtle profundity. I cannot bring myself to do it because I believe strongly that any argument, or life philosophy you have developed, or even gleaned over the years, cannot and should not be able to be boiled down to a bumper sticker. If something is truly profound or life defining, it shouldn’t be legible on the back of a car or stamped on the front of a t-shirt. (Though I am not above trying to sell a few).
Can you fully and truly define your philosophy on any matter in a twitter post? You can make a statement, for certain, but does that cover how you got there? Why what you said is relevant or worth considering? In what ways was your thinking tested to make such a conclusion? You must also consider how are you really conveying anything of value to another person. Let it be noted that many conversations can be valuable even if nothing noteworthy was ever exchanged. Raise your hand if you have ever been to a bar and had a two hour long conversation with stranger who became your best friend yet never spoke to them again or can even remember what was said. I should also note that even bumper stickers have value after a fashion.
The real issue is are you actually trying to convey your philosophy on an entire strata of thought in one sentence and still think it has deep intellectual weight because its in the form of a pun or there are cute pictures attached. I think we can all agree that the words ‘intellectual’ and ‘pun’ probably shouldn’t even appear in the same sentence together without sarcastic quotation marks.
I want people to be challenged in their thinking, if only a little. I grew up in a larger family (yes my parents were catholic how did you know?) and if there is one thing you learn it is pride swallowing and humility. That and how to viciously defend your dinner plate with a plastic fork; the barbarians are always at the gate. You might consider this middle child thinking because, often, you will never get the attention your older siblings or compete with the volume of the younger. You gain insight when your speech is consistently drowned out by someone shouting the first thought that enters their head, no matter how funny, which helps you realize a simple truth that bears a lot of thought: I am not necessarily wrong and they are not necessarily right.
Let me lay some cards on the table: I regret past instances where I have been dismissive with my opinions and obnoxiously pretentious when talking about the lives of others and by baby Jesus in his footy jumper I know I am far from perfect. However, I did not come to my thinking, on any subject that will grace this blog, overnight. Perhaps I write to lambaste a culture where whoever yells loudest thinks they have won something tangible or perhaps in every normal circumstance and conversation few people no matter their intellect are rarely allowed to finish a thought before someone throws out a quip they believe encapsulates their entire argument and should shut down all others.
In the end I know this: no philosophy on any subject, that is truly worth adherence, can be so simple it fits on a bumper sticker.
Gaius Austen (G.A.)
PS. This blog is powered by dry red wines, amber beers, Irish whiskeys and a staggering amount of irony.
