Car Ribbons

OK, by now everybody has probably seen those magnetic yellow ribbons (or variants thereof) proclaiming support for our troops. I have to confess I have not one, but two on my van (one is yellow and the other is red, white, and blue and says "God Bless America"). Loads of people bought them to show their support for-- wait for it-- the troops. Then other causes took up the meme and made pink ribbon magnets for breast cancer, red ones for AIDS, even puzzly rainbow ones for autism awareness.

And now the trend has reached the "critical mass" (pun intended) that it takes to spawn pointed parodies. The Jesus Fish has its Darwin Fish, which in turn has its Jesus Fish Eating The Darwin Fish. The yellow ribbon magnet has SupportOurRibbons.com. Sporting such slogans as "My Ribbon Is Better Than Your Ribbon," these self-referential ribbons are a tongue-in-cheek way to poke fun at the trend.

I don't mind, by the way, that these ribbons are making fun of me and millions of other patriotic Americans like me. If you can't laugh at yourself, you only place yourself in opposition to the other people who are laughing at you.