Last week, we asked for your vote to decide the best of the top five entries to our “6-word motto for the U.S.” contest. As promised, we tallied the votes received in the first 48 hours after posting. There was a clear winner:
Our Worst Critics Prefer to Stay (194 votes)
Here are the runners-up:
Caution! Experiment in Progress Since 1776 (134)
The Most Gentle Empire So Far (64) votes
You Should See the Other Guy (38)
Just Like Canada, With Better Bacon (18)
I applaud your choice of winner, and I especially applaud “edholston,” the blog reader who wrote the motto. “Our Worst Critics Prefer to Stay” is, while perhaps not outrightly uplifting, a wonderfully concise acknowledgment of the paradox that a capitalist democracy inevitably is: a place that is often well worth complaining about, and which allows you to complain as loudly as you wish.
It seems a small reward to get just a piece of Freakonomics schwag for such a mighty task as writing a new motto for the United States, but that is all we have to offer. That, and our thanks — to Ed, and to all of you who participated.
Now, who among you can see about actually getting this motto adopted?
and 
. You can also watch it on 
I think that your observation on the early ‘left’ suggestions and late ‘right’ may have significantly contributed to the voting. As an ‘independent’ contributor who kicked in somewhere during the transition from L to R, I kept checking back to see if anything happened and then finally forgot all about it. The late R ‘surge’ probably was still paying attention when the voting commenced. I know I wasn’t.
I see a trend developing, here. Official six-word motto for the US when it’s bored and has had too much to drink:
Seriously, Canada. You Want Some? C’mon!
@Dubner: “Now, who among you can see about actually getting this motto adopted?”
I’d say the first thing it has to do is spread. What better way to spread it than to blog about it and pass it on? You democratized the process already, but in one sense you Freaks held the primary election. The general election is held every second from here until eternity, on the internet, by the water cooler, and in coffee shops virtual and otherwise.
I’ve spent months in Canada and always thought, “America is better, ‘cept for the bacon!” After going to Europe I asked, why is everyone else (other countries) getting the good bacon and we get leftovers?
Do they serve “American Bacon” (all-fat) in Canada?
Blame the Canadians!!!
“Our Worst Critics Prefer to Stay” The implicit delusion in this is that for most people there is a real choice. People stay for the same reason most people stay in the same religion they are born into; the call of imprinted group identity overpowers other considerations. That is the cost of change in terms of how it affects ones personal identity and ones family and other social relations is currently to great. In addition are the incremental benefits of moving to Europe or Canada worth the cost and hassle? Things arnt bad enough here (yet?) to warrant learning French or freezing your butt off in The Great White North.
I am an American that has never posted a comment on this blog before. However, I feel that it is necessary to break my silence to utter two simple Truths about this world:
1) American beer is disgusting.
2) Molson Canadian is brewed by God himself.
what’s wrong with “E Pluribus Unum” (the current motto)?
Besides most of the other places Americans might like to emigrate to (rather than stay here) have much stricter immigration policies than we do and make it impossible. So the winning motto isn’t necessarily accurate, as some of us may be staying not because we prefer it but because we can’t get anyone else to take us.
Now just replace the “In God We Trust” on all of our money with this new motto, and we’ll be good to go.