The Freakonomics blog over at NYTimes has a little contest asking people to try to write a six-word motto for the US. Browsing the comments, I found an amazing variety of self-deprecating, self-hating, cynical, desperate, overly narrow, pathetic, and downright moronic entries. Oh, and there are even some clever and nice ones, too. Here’s some of that variety:

• “The last best hope of mankind.”
• “When in doubt, whip it out!”
• “We came; we saw; we ravaged.”
• “12 Million Illegals Can’t Be Wrong!”
• “e plures suffragium, unum claudus rectum” (Translation: out of many votes, one lame decider.)
• “Land of free, ex-home of braves.”
• “Our ‘poor’ are richer than you.”
• “One Nation To Rule The Mall”
• “All your oil are belong to us.”
• “Always number one. We insist.”
• “Dominated the 20th Century — now what?”
• “We Saved The World from Hitler”
• “Why can’t you be like us?”
• “The most gentle empire so far.”
• “Hold my beer and watch this!”
• “Birthplace of the earth’s true terrorists.”
• “We make and break the rules.”
• “Look, at least we’re trying.”
• “Where too much is never enough.”
• “Please step away from the oil.”
• “Our worst critics prefer to stay.”

Who better than a crowd like ours to name the essence of this land, its promise, its potential. What are your six words? I submitted these:

• “Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.”
• “Founded on the concept of freedom.”
• “Best and last hope of humanity.”