# Fifty years later, does America need a stupider motto? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 30, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065 "2006-12-30T02:32:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![The\_The](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/96bed5/32.png) [@The\_The](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_The)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/81 "2006-12-30T23:06:21Z")
[QUOTE=The The] Oh dear, too many good ones! America - Fuck YEAH! is great, however I would like to submit a more ‘hip’ alternate. “America-Hells Yeah!” Could resonate with the youth, but runs the risk of being embarassingly unhip in a few years. Or Drewbert’s “Trust us; we know what we’re doing.” could be Jack Bauer’d up as, “We don’t have to me to explain, you’re going to have to trust us!”. . .a bit wordy, but will perhaps save a great deal of time at the U.N. [/QUOTE] “We don’t have \*\*TIME \*\* to explain, you’re going to have to trust us!”. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/82 "2006-12-31T01:05:19Z")
I thought “He who smelt it dealt it” would be a better motto. I’ve actually thought about this before. I was under the impression that “Advance Australia” had been changed to “Australia to King’s Bishop Four” in the early 70s. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/83 "2006-12-31T01:34:49Z")
Consider the possibilities that would be opened up by having Mr. T on all the currency. Then, of course, the motto would be “PITYING FOOLS SINCE 1776” ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/84 "2006-12-31T03:35:57Z")
[QUOTE=Kimstu] You forgot Ulysses S. Grant’s [Secretary of State](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Fish). [/QUOTE] He may have, but I didn’t. Check Post #71. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/85 "2006-12-31T05:35:39Z")
We Have Always Been at War with Eastasia ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/86 "2006-12-31T06:11:12Z")
[QUOTE=The The] Or Drewbert’s “Trust us; we know what we’re doing.” could be Jack Bauer’d up as, “We don’t have to me to explain, you’re going to have to trust us!”. . . [/QUOTE] Or millions of people will die! ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/87 "2006-12-31T06:23:41Z")
[QUOTE=Zakalwe] [QUOTE=Captain Amazing] I need to correct my previous post. In it, I said that Secretary of the Treasury Chase was a Catholic. He was not. He was an Episcopalian. He was also the only cabinet secretary to be named after a fish. [/QUOTE] Is there no end to the [ignorance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Fish)? [/QUOTE] Yeah, but he wasn’t named after a fish, he was named after fish in general. It’s completely different. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/88 "2006-12-31T06:39:23Z")
[QUOTE=betenoir] We Have Always Been at War with Eastasia [/QUOTE] Oh great, so we have to replace all the currency every time we go from being at war with Eastasia to being at war with Eu ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/89 "2006-12-31T06:47:58Z")
[QUOTE=MEBuckner] Yeah, but he wasn’t named after a fish, he was named after fish in general. It’s completely different. [/QUOTE] But what about [Edmund Muskie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskellunge)? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/90 "2006-12-31T06:58:23Z")
I’ll pile on for “America, fuck yeah!” I think it kind of sums up the zeitgeist. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/91 "2006-12-31T07:27:43Z")
[QUOTE=drewbert] _“Trust us; we know what we’re doing.”_ [/QUOTE] We ARE the police force. We don’t watch the news, we make it. Guns don’t kill people, we do. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/92 "2006-12-31T14:55:43Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] Or millions of people will die! [/QUOTE] That should be “… **AND** millions of people will die!” ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/93 "2006-12-31T16:54:22Z")
[QUOTE=Ponder Stibbons] Yes. And since, as noted above, we have a tradition of “testing out” new mottoes on coinage before making them official, I’d like to propose the following [New Motto Coin](http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f262/PonderThis/Drawings/New-Motto-Coin.png). [/QUOTE] I think the coin should be one of these: “America: We do not sleep. We _wait_.” “America’s chief export: pain.” “There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures we have allowed to live.” Chuck Norris facts are still funny, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/94 "2006-12-31T17:36:57Z")
[QUOTE=Ponder Stibbons] Yes. And since, as noted above, we have a tradition of “testing out” new mottoes on coinage before making them official, I’d like to propose the following [New Motto Coin](http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f262/PonderThis/Drawings/New-Motto-Coin.png). [/QUOTE] **Ponder Stibbons** , did you make that up especially for this thread, or what? That’s just awesome. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/95 "2006-12-31T17:56:05Z")
Some of the ones out there are already [pretty good](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_state_mottos). Austria’s old one: “It is Austria’s destiny to rule the world” So how did that work out for you? Botswana: “Rain” I think someone has a problem with the weather there. Quebec: “I Remember” That sounds seriously stalkerish. Kenya: “Let’s work together” It’s like one big hippy commune. Luxembourg: “We want to stay what we are” Sort of the whiny little kid of mottos. Scotland: “No one provokes me with impunity” Nice words to say, “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/96 "2006-12-31T18:01:19Z")
[QUOTE=flight] Some of the ones out there are already [pretty good](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_state_mottos). [/QUOTE] That’s handy. It sounds to me like the Isle of Man is the place to go for lawn jarts. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/97 "2006-12-31T20:24:39Z")
Yeah, but how else can we guarantee that the tongue of a Kohm will burn with fire if he dares attempt to say the holy words? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/98 "2006-12-31T20:38:35Z")
Let’s just cut to the chase and get our current admin’s motto out there: **Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc** (We gladly feast on those who would subdue us) And the current admin seems to feel that if you’re not sucking up to us, you’re trying to subdue us. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/99 "2006-12-31T20:57:41Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] **Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc** (We gladly feast on those who would subdue us) [/QUOTE] Reminescent of Caligula: _“Oderint dum metuant”_ (Let them hate so long as they fear. ) ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifty-years-later-does-america-need-a-stupider-motto/386065/100 "2006-12-31T21:26:35Z")
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