Editorial: Tag design contest shouldn’t become political

Published Wednesday, May 25, 2011

For a while there, it was looking like the state of Georgia might make it through a good chunk of the year without becoming a national political laughingstock.

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The legislature, which usually can be counted on to draw unwanted attention to the state, was so distracted by the state’s fiscal challenges earlier this year that it managed not to consider legislation like the bill aimed at halting microchip implantation in humans that had been part of last year’s General Assembly session.

On Monday, though, the state Department of Revenue announced a contest that brings with it the possibility of generating unwanted headlines for the state. The department is looking for a new design for the state’s license plate, and instead of taking the safe route of just deciding on a readable font for the numbers, and maybe putting a peach (for Georgia’s moniker as “The Peach State”) somewhere on the 6-inch by 12-inch metal tag, the department has decided to open the design issue to any Georgia resident or any business licensed to do business in the state.

As might be expected – and, as in most cases involving an artistic pursuit like designing a license plate, might be advisable – the department has put few restrictions on potential designers. The design must promote Georgia as the Peach State, must be limited to an image area of 5.75 inches by 11.75 inches, must include the word “Georgia” in a 6.5-inch by 1-inch area, and must contrast with the license plate number.

So what’s the problem? Well, let’s take just a moment to consider what might happen with a design process open to the general public. The general public will, of course, include people with specific political and/or religious points of view who might be attracted

Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/ehvmb6ykCsk/opi_834389783.shtml