Rhetorical Analysis: One Big Ass Misteak America

photo source: www.facebook.com/beingliberal.org

           I love stumbling across little jewels like this one.  As the old adage says, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”   Today I’d like to articulate a few of the words that came to mind when I viewed this media image for the first time.  In fact, it is my absolute pleasure to do so. 

I am a liberal.  As a registered Democrat, most of my political views can be categorized as “Left” or “Left-Centrist” and I am most certainly a supporter of our 44^th President, Barack Obama.  Being a Left Centrist means that while my views lean towards the liberal left, I am less concerned with taking sides, i.e., left vs. right, than I am with moving forward.  Every now and again, though, I succumb to the temptation to poke fun at the Right.  I am only human, after all, and some right-wing comments are just too ridiculous to let lie.  When it comes to serious political debate, though, I do my best to stick to the facts.  While you’ll never catch me supporting the GOP, knocking them down ad hominem just isn’t my style.  Today however, I stumbled across the above image and, after fits of loud hooting subsided, felt compelled to thank the author of this one for doing it for me.

Now, in all fairness, perhaps this isn’t the flaming example of tea-bagger ignorance that I assume it to be.  After all, in 2007 then Senator Obama did promise to take a stand against the corruption in our regulatory systems when it comes to food, especially with regard to labeling of genetically or otherwise modified ingredients (Dave), a promise as President he has yet to fulfill.  Conceivably, Mr. Red Pickup Truck could be upset at President Obama for supporting the unethical practices of U.S. Food and Drug Administration when it comes to things like “pink slime,” filler for ground beef made of cow connective tissue and unused beef scraps.  This mixture is treated with ammonium hydroxide to kill off e-Coli and salmonella pathogens before being sold as ground beef to supermarkets, fast food chains and the National School Lunch Program (Huehnergarth).  It’s quite possible that the use of “Misteak” was simply this citizen’s clever use of paronomasia to express his outrage that the FDA is not required to identify pink slime when placing labels on beef products.  As a critic of the corruption within the USDA and FDA myself, who am I to argue with that?  

When it comes to expressing one’s self, be it politically, religiously, or facetiously, we each have the right to be heard.  Summing up one’s ideologies on a 2.5”x5.5” rectangular sticker, however, can be challenging.  After all, some things are just too important to be printed that small.  Enter the customizable magnetic banner: the ingenious medium for all things emphatic.  They are fast, affordable, and downright necessary when a bumper sticker just won’t cut it.  In the case of Mr. Red Pickup Truck, I have several theories. “One Big Ass Misteak America” is: an intentional pun, meant to raise awareness about food labeling; proof that printing irrational rants in extra-large fonts should be more closely governed; a failed attempt at using a witty acronym to criticize President Obama; evidence that the person in a Minnesota print shop responsible for proofing spelling errors on oversize magnetic banners is a snarky liberal who decided to let this one slide.  In any case, this media image has spoken, loud and clear.  For me personally it is irrefutable proof that the Democratic Party does in fact reign superior, at the very least when it comes to spelling.  Thank you, Mr. Red Pickup Truck.  Thank you.  

           

WORKS CITED

Dave, D. (2011, October 03). Breaking Video: 2007 Campaign Promise, Obama Says He'll Label

            GMOs If Elected [Web log post]. Retrieved April 29, 2012, from

http://fooddemocracynow.org/blog/2011/oct/3/obama_promises_to_label_gmos/

Huehnergarth, N. (2012, December 03). Why Americans Are Angry About Pink Slime. The

Huffington Post. Retrieved April 29, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-huehnergarth/pink-slime-beef_b_1336799.html