When I went to eat my cereal this morning, this sight greeted me out my kitchen window:

I asked myself, “What is the official motto of the U.S. Navy?” Because I can’t believe that alongside the Marines’ “Semper Fidelis” and the Army’s “This We’ll Defend” (ok, had to look that one up), the Navy would have a motto that not only bastardizes one of the most cherished phrases from Declaration of Independence, but seems to be talking about unilateral, pre-emptive military action based on zealotry and misinformation. Or at least that’s the latest incarnation.

When I first looked into the origin of the slogan, I came across this article poking fun at it. But it turns out, depressingly, to be the result of something an actual Navy admiral said, and is apparently part of a new Navy ad campaign. Now why is it on a cement mixer outside my apartment? Good question.