Skip to content

Freak Of The Week: American Idiot

Ok, maybe Idiot is a little harsh. But it certainly isn’t American genius.

Let’s set the scene. I’m driving through Westwood, a part of LA that is uncharacteristically city-like, filled with high rises and active sidewalks. Westwood is also the home of UCLA, so the main thoroughfare is packed with professors in jalopies & foreign students in Ferraris. On this day, I saw something really different. On this day, I saw a PT Cruiser:
IMG_8926 Who cares, right? Your grandma/dogwalker/weird neighbor/crazy uncle drives a PT Cruiser. Sure, but does your resident eccentric do this:
IMG_8924 I didn’t think so. That is the kind of artwork usually reserved for motorhomes with mid-Western plates. I like to think of them as modern cave paintings– man’s lively illustrations which fuel campfire banter. But this ain’t no motorhome.
IMG_8925
This is someone’s daily drive, with California plates nonetheless.

Now I could go full snob (my Connecticut roots run deep) and dissect this for its lack of sophistication, poor composition or artistic integrity, but what’s the point? Instead, I’d rather focus on the fact that this is someone that loves his/her country so much that they feel the need to remind each and every passerby on Wilshire Blvd. Does that make them an idiot? Hell no. That makes them a patriot and I think that’s cool. But sinking an extra dollar into a PT Cruiser actually does make them an idiot. A patriotic, PT Cruiser driving American idiot. God bless this wacky, wonderful place.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *