Slogans

“Honk if you’re against tyranny.”

 Just a slogan written on a piece of cardboard, leaning against a light pole so that it’s visible to all the traffic going past.  No one claiming ownership or sponsorship. Just the sign, all by itself.

I have to say, I’m not entirely sure what to do with that one. Are we talking about tyranny of the masses or tyranny of the minority, the tyranny of tradition or the tyranny of dead ideas?

Do we mean tyranny as in despots enslaving their people? Or perhaps tyranny of the normal?

And even if I understood how the poster artiste meant for us to understand the term, what would it mean if I did honk? Is it the good guys who honk or the jerks? I mean, the writer could be the leader of a tyrant club and just trying to have their enemies self-identify so they would know whom to subjugate when the time comes.

Is this political and if so, is there a particular party or PAC or movement that represents tyranny in the mind of the sign-maker? Or perhaps the writer is an anarchist, so that in his/her mind, all the rest of us are joined in a common tyrannical enterprise.

And if we answer those questions, still I’d be left mired in indecision. Shall I honk once or make a series of toots, a quick beep or a long, brash, dopplered slide on through the intersection? Do I wave after I honk or just stare straight ahead, letting the horn do my talking?

This is going to bother me for awhile. I’d love to join the society of honkers – assuming they’re the good guys – but I just don’t know if it’s right for me.

Crap.

Now, “Honk if you’re indecisive?”  I see that one, I’ll know just what to do.

I think.