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08 September 2010

You know what grinds my goat? Yard signs

Meta Level: When I see words I read them, it is an instinctual reaction to a present stimulus. I get upset when some one carelessly tosses words into my view, let alone screaming for my attention on front yards and windows and bumpers everywhere. If you are going to do that you better do it in a place that is allowed and for a reason or with an artful hand, to reward my eye with a message worth taking in, cogitating on, and finally judging . A political yard sign or bumper sticker gives me nothing to cogitate but their name, party affiliation and colour palate. They are a waste of time, money and resources; a toxic form of garbage and litter that serves no purpose nor holds any value past its election date.  They, in fact, serve only one purpose, as far as I can fathom: they give people a way of feeling like they are participating in the electoral process, like rooting for a team at a local sporting event. Rah! Rah! Rah? What the heck?
Signs don't vote, they don't change anyone's mind and they don't make a lick of difference, except as a way of seeing who's campaign can pee the furthest. You put a person under that yard sign, walking in a place that people walk, or talking to people wherever there are people who can vote, and you have something with power. You size that sign up to wall size, billboard size, house sized if you got a place to put it, and you have something with power.
Someone gives me a campaign to run not one person gets one sign until they or someone they know has put in a shift on the phones, on the computers or on the pavement, where every election can, was and ever will be won.
Do you get a yard sign every election? Then I am talking to you! Get involved if you really support a candidate. Go to their meetings and make the  calls they ask you to make. It's not that hard, it's much more rewarding, and it will genuinely improve the quality and quantity of support for the candidate you believe in. It actually wins elections.

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