New Jersey’s official state motto has long been “liberty and prosperity,” but is it time we change that?

A poll was recently done by BibleVerses101 to see if states would prefer to update what often seem to be outdated mottos. We could all use a revamp, right?

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They surveyed 3,000 participants to see what they would choose as updated state mottos and I find some of them more questionable than others.

For instance, Tennesseans thought their state motto should be “From smokey peaks to music streets,” and I think that makes total sense. Having been to Nashville once, it's as if you can't walk 6 feet without hearing live music somewhere.

Nashville, Tennessee, USA downtown city skyline on the Cumberland River.
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But apparently New Jerseyans thought our motto should be “Crossroads of tradition and tomorrow.”

…huh?

There’s no WAY that this is the phrase that best represents the Garden State, I know we can do better than that.

Take these suggestions for example:

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I mean… am I wrong here? This makes WAY more sense than “crossroads of today and tomorrow.” This is said probably hundreds of times a day throughout New Jersey.

I wouldn’t be opposed to putting this on our state flag.

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We care about our food. We care about our friends. Of course we’re going to care about if our friends have eaten food!

That said, we’re in too much of a rush in NJ to ask the full sentence “Did you eat?” So we ask the age-old question: j’eet?

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Sure, it’s not the most welcoming motto, but it’s the most honest. At least for the summer season.

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Especially after a night out at your favorite NJ bar or nightclub, there’s nothing like going to a diner and ordering a pork roll, egg, and cheese.

Why not make it our motto?

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Goodness knows we need caffeine to handle all that we have to put up with in New Jersey. Although it'd obviously have to be pronounced “cawfee” to get the full Garden State experience.

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While obviously based on the sentence yelled at you on the Wildwood boardwalk, it can be our motto when applied to any car on the road.

Basically “watch for the other drivers please!”

I don't know about you, but any of those make more sense to me as a born and raised New Jerseyan than "Crossroads of tradition and tomorrow."

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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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