A number of drivers express their thoughts and opinions through the application of a bumper sticker. During political years the number of funny bumper stickers tends to increase as both people that support and oppose the current government show their support of candidates by adding the liberal stickers to their rear bumper. But politics are not the only things that are being expressed by the individuals that post their opinion of affiliations on their cars. For some drivers their vehicle is an open book that identifies all of their beliefs and causes as well as offering up the humor or satire of the individual that is behind the wheel.
When out on the road it is common to see the favorite words of someone that is driving ahead of you. In my neighborhood there is a very old and worn out car that clearly has seen better days and which boasts the bumper sticker, "Honk if parts start falling off." Other stickers that are seen express a person's belief in carrying a gun or holding to a tradition of supporting the Bill of Rights with sayings such as, "You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hand," or "guns don't kill people, owners do." With a wide variety of serious and whimsical sayings that can be added to the back of any car the possibilities to amuse, entertain or take a stand are just as important to drivers today as they were in the 1970's when the world was first introduced to the different vinyl stickers for cars that expressed "free love" or "peace."
One of my personal favorite bumper stickers of all time is a play on words that identifies the humor in what many people take all too seriously. Instead of reading, visualize world peace, the sticker reads, "visualize whirled peas" as a tongue in cheek retort to the people that sometimes take their outlook of life a serious thing all the time. While there are some people who only want to express the real thoughts that they have and take a very stoic approach to life there are others that find joy in the journey through life and who believe that everyone should learn to lighten up. For this group of people the appeal of funny bumper stickers is something that makes collecting the phrases and jokes that appear on the back of their car a game that can be enjoyed as they are driving down the street and looking for the reactions of others to their sometimes quirky outlook on life.