Friday, December 5, 2008

License Plate Slogans

When driving on the various highways it is interesting to notice the slogans on various state license plates. Some of them are intriguing and others are plain hilarious. Recently on a road trip while at a rest stop I encountered a New Hampshire state license plate;"Live Free or Die". I think that is my all time favorite because it is so declarative. Yes, it is certainly meant to display patriotism which I have no problem with however it is rather reminiscent of the cold war era when America felt threatened by Russia and the phrase "better red than dead" was popularized. Maybe an updated state license plate should declare "beware of terrorism". Would that maybe make a reflective patriotic statement?

South Carolina and South Dakota may be mad at each other or someone is being a copy cat."Smiling Faces.Beautiful Places." is on the S.Carolina state plate and a similar expression on the S.Dakota state plate reads "Great Faces.Great Places". Wasn't there a popular song at one time about smiling faces telling lies? Alabama also used a song quote on their license plate slogan "Sweet Home Alabama".

There are quite a few state plates that appear to reflect an appeal towards tourism as Florida has "The Sunshine State" and Maine has "Vacation Land". I think some of the smart people from Maine might migrate to the Sunshine State in the dead of winter for their vacation.... Of course if you are a sportsman you might travel to Louisiana ,their license plate is sure to attract people who enjoy sports, "Sportsman's Paradise".

Why would Tennessee feel compelled to put a slogan on their state license plate that says "The Volunteer State"? That is really not too different than Indiana's slogan of "In God We Trust". I imagine their are residents of both these states who do not share or endorse those particular beliefs.

Massachusetts' state plates display" The Spirit of America" probably because they still hold on to their pride of being the origin of the American Revolution. Maybe it's time to change that to "The Best Sports Town" (go Red Sox). North Dakota apparently feels the same way because their license plate reads "Discover the Spirit". I don't think N.Dakota has a sports team to cheer for but they definitely have discovered the spirit.

Shall I go on or am I beginning to bore people? New Mexico does not think they are boring they live in the" Land of Enchantment". Illinois declares they are the "Land of Lincoln". If Lincoln gets lost somewhere he can go to Missouri the "Show Me State". That could also be interpreted as a rather provocative statement as is West Virginia who wants to be known as "Wild and Wonderful".

I think I have pretty well exhausted this subject but at the very least I need to mention that there are several states who refer to their topography as being special "The Green Mountain State" of Vermont, the "Big Sky Country of Montana, and Utah "Life Elevated".


I'm really not making any of this up you can go look it up and depending what state you reside in you might nominate a slogan "Land of Google".

5 comments:

underOvr (aka The U) said...

gaf85,

I actually found a "Fight Terrorism" license plate (in Virginia of course). I also found this available in Texas

underOvr

gaf85 said...

U, I guess my joking has some basis of reality (scary). Some states have more than one slogan,if you don't like one there is always the other.
LOL :)

Michael Horvath said...

Growing up in Wisconsin I am sure that most people think the slogan has something to do with cheese. Actually the slogan reads "The Dairy State" although there could be something on it about beer and brats too.

gaf85 said...

M,So there are alot of brats in Wisconsin?

HorribleLicensePlates said...

Awesome post. Thanks for sharing! You rock!