TIS THE SEASON FOR . . . SIGN OPPRESSION???
Editorial by Darrin McDonald
Political yard signs are dotting the landscape in advance of the May Primary Election. Let’s face it: in rural America we really do not have General Elections anymore. Voters who badly need better leaders, get fewer choices because the National Elites, political correctness and woke ideology offend the Deplorables. Did I mention how very Deplorable I have become????
Anyway, there is far too much intensity for this early in the year, and, political signs are causing Anxiety. I have survived three contested elections and been un-opposed in two more. This time, I am not running. Nonetheless, Matt and I believe that there are some unwritten rules of ediquette for the yard signs to reduce the stress and support the First Amendment:
(1) Do NOT call anyone and tell them to take down their yard sign. That is akin to Bullying, and, you will get reported to the yard-sign bully box. (You might get your own song on Pike County Unleashed);
(2) IN THE EVENT THAT THE YARD SIGN BULLY DOES CALL YOU, you may, or may not, take down the yard sign, depending on whether you want to deal with the stress. However, make sure to VOTE for the candidate on the sign that the yard sign bully finds offensive, thereby reversing the effect.
(Matt and I are aware that a crafty yard sign bully could engage in inverse bullying by calling you to complain about the candidate that he or she really does support, thereby inducing your vote in the bully’s desired direction. Most yard sign bullies are not creative people and usually are pretty transparent however).
(3) In every election cycle there are always cases where people put signs in yards without asking the homeowner. NOT COOL!
(4) As our jingle illustrates, there are even yard sign bullies who deal in political signs of ‘am-big-u-ity’, by putting the sign in a location on the property line which actually makes it appear as if it belongs to someone else.
Eager politicians need to remember that political signs do not vote, and, that politics in general causes people anxiety. It is a very personal decision for people to place a sign, or not place a sign, in their yard.
Lastly, I will say that while I always have disliked all of the ugliness in politics, not all yard signs are created equal. Of the hundreds of signs over the years that I have put up, my all-time favorite yard sign was in the very south end of the county on Highway 61 rolling out of Spurgeon. Clayton Claridge would let me put a 4’ by 8’ sign in his yard. Clayton passed away last Fall. Clayton was part of the Great American Generation that really did make America great in the first place. He loved God, family, community and hard work. If he believed in you, he would stand in front of a freight train to support you, and, if Clayton believed in you, you were doing something right. That was one sign that could not be bullied.
Check out the video below.
Let us know what you think in the comments below.