Related Posts
Have you seen the new US passport? Couper has one and it’s pretty fancy. On our drive from the Thailand/Cambodia border to our home in Siem Reap we were starting to get a little travel weary so we started looking through Couper’s passport. On each page they have included quotes as well as images from across the US. You can read the quotes below and then see my questions and a fun contest at the bottom:
“…And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Abraham Lincoln
Accompanied by an image of some sailors…or could be the Boston Tea Party…or could be some Revolutionary War Soldiers, hard to tell.
“The principle of free governments adheres to the American soil. It is bedded in it, immovable as its mountains.” Daniel Webster
Accompanied by photos of a majestic looking mountain range and a lake.
“Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair.” George Washington
Accompanied by one photo I can’t see (Cambodian visa over it) and one photo of a beautiful colonial building.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are empowered by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Declaration of Independence
Accompanied by a photo of the ocean I think (covered by a Cambodia and a Laos visa)
“We have a great dream. It started way back in 1776, and God grant that America will be true to her dream.” Martin Luther King
Accompanied by an eagle with a backdrop of mountains I think (mountains covered by Vietnam visa)
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty.” John F. Kennedy
Accompanied by an image of Mount Rushmore (or in this case half of Mt Rushmore and a Cambodia visa)
“This is a nation, based on a mighty continent, of boundless possibilities.” Theodore Roosevelt
Accompanied by a lake with rolling hills in the background
“Whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
Accompanied by a closeup of wheat with farmland behind.
“For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest sleeping in the unplowed ground. Is our world gone? We say ‘Farewell.’ Is a new world coming? We welcome it – and we will bend it to the hopes of man.” Lyndon B. Johnson
Accompanied by a photo of cowboys and longhorn cattle (so glad no visas on this page, the cows took up a good 10 minutes of study during the car ride)
“May God continue the unity of our country as the railroad unites the two great oceans of the world.” inscribed on the Golden spike, Promontory Point, 1869
Accompanied by a photo of a beautiful train with rolling hills and a bridge in the background. (Again, thank you for just stamps, no visas, trains are cool)
“We send thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We are glad they are still here and we hope it will always be so.” Excerpt from the Thanksgiving Address, Mohawk version.
Accompanied by a lake with Pine Trees in the background and a totem pole on the right.
“The cause for freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.” Anna Julia Cooper
Accompanied by an image of the Statue of Liberty.
“Every generation has the obligation to free men’s minds for a look at new worlds…to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation.” Ellison S Onizaka
Accompanied by an image of the moon and a satellite.
So here are my questions and the person with the best answers will win a Nikaya Neary Scarf so add your answers in the comments section below for a chance to win.
Question 1: Who decided on these quotes and images?!? Was it a committee? Did they poll the public? Who was in charge?
Question 2: Which is your favorite quote? and Why? (mine is Eisenhower’s, I would like to send it to Bush.)
Question 3: Are these really the best quotes for a passport? Who are they for? Us the passport holder or is it for the bored immigration officer at the border deciding whether to let us enter??
Question 4: They didn’t capitalize ‘inscribed’ is that a typo (they did capitalize ‘Excerpt’) If it is a typo, who do I inform!?!?
Question 5: What is the other version of the Thanksgiving address!?!? Perhaps: “Animals are good eatin’.” The Pilgrims
I will announce the winner next week so get your comments in. Good luck and Godspeed!
Ok, so I know I can’t win and I already rock the Neary Scarf in blue (seriously SUPER CUTE!!!) – but I just have to chime in adn say my favorite quote is “The cause for freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.” Anna Julia Cooper – A large lesson could be learned if all understood this.
Okay, let’s see….
1. I believe the quotes and pictures were selected by the Congressional Intern Committee, right before they left for the regular Happy Hour Binge Drinking Meeting. Coincidentally, this committee is also in charge of The Colbert Show promotional images.
2. “Every generation has the obligation to free men’s minds for a look at new worlds…to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation.” Ellison S Onizaka – because I’m not afraid of heights.
3. According to the State Dept., these images are a “design that reflects the varied landscapes of the U.S. Each page includes a quote reflecting the hope and success that is the United States of America.”
So, apparently, the United States owns the moon.
4. Ask my mother
5. Not sure what the other version of the address it, but I think Jon Stewart said it best…”I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.”
Tough questions.
1.The State Department–some bureaucrats in the Consular Division.
And they didn’t ask anybody for content approval, although they had to report all the changes to a Congressional committee.
2. My favorite quote is the moon quote, because it is the only one that has to do with travel.
3. The quotes are meant as the ultimate deterrent to copying the passport. If the microchips and invisible ink don’t work, the would-be felons will be deterred by patriotic thoughts. (And forgers will have a difficult time replicating, because who knows all those quotes?)
4. Again, it is a deterrent. RAndom Capitalization and mis-spelling makes counterfeiters lives more difficult. So don’t report it, or you’ll be suspect.
5.”Be careful what you say, it may wind up in a U. S. passport and confuse the heck out of a Finnish immigration official some day.
Wow, you guys are good! Just realized I have to judge this…my husband would say I’m judgmental, but it is causing me stress! A winner will be announced next Tuesday!