Battling Bumper Stickers

I’m very interested in cognitive dissonance. It’s the other pandemic we’re in the midst of. I’ve written about it in my blog on several occasions. The subject is far from dead. Here are two egregious examples:

In the past few weeks, I saw two cars bearing bumper stickers that sent completely opposite messages… on the same car! Each car was festooned with about a dozen stickers endorsing the MAGA cult as well as its nefarious leader. But one also had a sticker proclaiming:

More Love, Less Hate

What?!? Huh?!? The patron saint of hate was promoted all over this car. Who’s got room for love? What gives? The other car I saw, in addition to the aforementioned creepy MAGA stickers, also wore one that said:

I ❤ The Constitution

That one gave me intellectual whiplash. No one has ever abused and run roughshod over said document than the scofflaw the other stickers endorsed. He makes Richard Nixon look like the proverbial boy scout.

I wish I’d had the presence of mind to take photos of those vehicles because I’m having a problem trusting my memory about such inanity. I have just one reaction.

Wow.

Mixed Messages

Saw this sign on the side of a building during a recent bike ride:

Okay, I’m good with that. I’m a massive proponent of supporting local businesses.

But wait! Pull back a little and we see the bigger picture:

What am I supposed to do with this cognitive dissonance? Subway spreads like a deadly pandemic across the face of this country. Fine. Let Iowa, Florida, and New Mexico have their nasty, mass-produced, generic sandwiches. But here in the Boston area, home of some of the best local sub shops east or west of Tuscany, Subway is unnecessary at best, a cancer at worst, eating away at our culture like the rot slowly consuming the shack in this photo.

Run away! Run away!!