Thursday, October 19, 2006

GODB4US

This was the license plate I was stuck looking at Thursday morning as I was driving to my office. (Side question: Should there really be this much traffic at 6:30am? Years ago, someone told me Nashville had the earliest rush hours in the country. Mornings like this reinforce this idea...)

While I'm certainly a proponent of freedom of expression, a license plate like this makes me wonder if the purchaser/potential communicator really took the time to plot out what they wanted those seven characters to say.

Because there are just too many ways to interpret those symbols into sentences...

"God be for us" - Arrogant, if grammatically incorrect.
"God before us" - Taking in the wonderment of the world that surrounds us...a nice sentiment, I suppose.
"God before U.S." - Putting priorities in order. Good enough
"God be for U.S." - Even more arrogant than the first, with the added bonus of a touch of shortsightedness.

Personally, I wish one could throw a comma into the mix, just as a a sign of humility and wishful thinking. Because heaven knows we've done plenty to cause the Almighty to question why he allows us to be here at all anymore.

"God, be for us."

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