Stella quarta decima fulgeat. No need to Google the phrase. It means “The 14th star shines bright” in Latin. It could also be Vermont’s secondary state motto.
I know, I know, this is the most fascinating tidbit you’ve heard in 2015 thus far. But hold on, because while you’re ready to move on to the next (real) news story, others are fuming at the notion of Vermont turning into Mexico.
Mexico!
As it turns out, the state already has a motto, “Freedom and Unity.” At this point, if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, the answer is yes, states have mottos. Some are perhaps more inspiring (Wyoming: “Equal rights”) than others (Utah: “Industry”; no offense, Utah.) As it also turns out, the majority of the mottos are not in English, and almost half are in Latin (Arizona: “Ditat Deus,” which means “God Enriches”; now I’m offended, Arizona).
So you might understand why Angela Kubicke, a ninth-grader at St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont, proposed “Stella quarta decima fulgeat” as a secondary state motto. On behalf of the student, Vermont state senator Joe Benning introduced a bill to add the Latin motto officially—which seems like a lame publicity stunt and a waste of the legislature’s time. Then again, Vermont may be turning into Mexico as a result.
Mexico!
Apparently, some residents of Vermont don’t want to live in Mexico. Angry protestors quickly began denouncing the motto, insisting that “Vermont ain’t no Latino area” and “This is America, not Mexico.”
Thanks for the geography lesson. And thanks for the lesson on prejudice.
Leave it to 15-year-old Kubicke to educate the ignorant. She found such reactions “a little bit appalling,” according to the Burlington Free Press. “It’s a lack of knowledge. I think that’s why this motto is very important. It sheds a light on the classics. Maybe people will learn the difference between Rome and Mexico.”
Maybe people will also learn tolerance. The instant vitriol with which some responded to a story that otherwise should’ve been buried in some local newspaper between articles about an intersection’s new traffic light and the opening of a new supermarket doesn’t merely display ignorance of language. It casts a harsh light on underlying bigotry. That a mere possibility of a Latin state motto can cause such uproar shows we still have some ways to go with building respect and acceptance.
Meanwhile, Montana’s motto is “Oro y plata,” which means “Gold and silver.” In Spanish. And yet, no one is mistaking the state for Mexico.
Mexico!
