Live Free or Die!

That's what it says on our license plates, anyway. This is the official motto of New Hampshire, and oddly enough New Hampshirites take it seriously. It was easier when New Hampshire was composed almost entirely of dour old Yankee farmers and fishermen who didn't need anybody anyway, but particularly since the 1970s there has been a massive infusion of Massachusetts people into Southern New Hampshire, which has really upended many traditional New Hampshire institutions and stereotypes. Now, the motto should more accurately be something like, "Live Free or Die....so long as I can still get the same level and quality of state-run services which I'm used to from Massachusetts, and oh by the way, why are taxes going up so high?"

But despite this demographic shift -- which, in the last two presidential elections, has tipped New Hampshire decisively towards the Democrat camp -- any self-respecting New Hampshirite will immediately punch the air defiantly while shouting this motto, Live Free or Die! New Hampshire does not require a seatbelt for adults in cars, or even a helmet for motorcycle riders. Although there doesn't seem to be a large hunting community anymore, there are much fewer gun restrictions than neighboring Massachusetts. New Hampshire is one of only a couple states which does not require Kindergarten for children, you do not need to have a housing inspector check the place out if you're buying/selling a home, and car insurance here is optional. Really. Live Free or Die! Of course, the truth is that most adults wear seatbelts because of the obvious benefits, most New Hampshire kids attend Kindergarten, you'd be an idiot not to hire a housing inspector if you're buying a place, and if you get a loan to buy a car, the bank always forces you to get car insurance. Still, it's the thought that counts. Live Free or Die!

This phrase is attributed to General John Stark, the New Hampshire Revolutionary War hero who supposedly spouted this phrase a lot at veterans' meetings after the Revolution. Now, General Stark is most famous for leading a cobbled force of New England militia to repulse an invasion (actually, a raid) of Vermont by units of British General John Burgoyne's army, then camped near Saratoga, NY. Although the famous battle is called "The Battle of Bennington", in fact it was fought in Waloomsac, NY as the British units -- actually, a bunch of German mercenaries fighting for the British -- were on their way to Bennington, VT. Now, having a detachment of half-starved professional German soldiers barreling down on you while all you have on your side is a bunch of lightly-armed New England farmers might inspire a very different meaning to a phrase like "Live Free or Die!" Nonetheless, General Stark carried the day and captured the Germans, leaving General Burgoyne in the New York state wilderness all the more isolated and that much closer to surrender, so we can take heart that while General Stark may not have been referring to seat belt laws or whether you should wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle, still, we kinda get what he meant.