Upside-down politics, literally

Photo Courtesy of Michael Carruth on Unsplash

Nothing says “upcoming election” like political lawn signs lined up in the grass along the main road. Or they could be propped up in clusters on people’s lawns, a sea of usually red, white and blue in different orders, all reminding you who is on that district's upcoming ballot. As a city girl, I’m surprised by how well-acquainted I am with the idea of these signs. Candidate signs are so important that I judge how serious an upcoming election is based on how early the signs make their way to a patch of grass.

In the years since 2016, I would say that I am more politically aware now than ever. Granted, I was 13 during that election cycle, so my priorities then were focused on why they would follow up the Wizards of Waverly Place finale with a subpar one hour special a year later. Nonetheless, the presidential election of 2016 was a major eye-opener for me on the ways political candidates are able to garner support for themselves. The most shocking was how far a name could take someone, even if they had no political experience to back them up.

As polarizing as this time was, I am able to look back fondly on how the conversation of politics on the national level became more frequent. Rather than the conversation being reserved for the adults in my life, I was directly engaged with these topics. Of course, in order to learn more about a candidate, you need to know who the candidates are. 

Solution: durable signs with classic colors, the year of the election and an agreeable slogan if there’s space. Before the height of the political season, these signs make their way to hundreds of lawns across the country. Their job? To allow a potential officeholder to subtly secure themselves as a name-recognized candidate on the ballot, winning the votes of those without the time or means to effectively research candidates independently. 

One of the things that interests me the most about these signs are the people who take them. I view this as a silent yet radical form of protest which can be beneficial depending on how you see it. Obviously, the taker gets a cool story to tell in two truths and a lie. More importantly, it is an active way of restricting free speech.

 In a Supreme Court case ruling in 1994, it was decided that the removal of political lawn signs is an infringement of free speech. While that case was more specifically based on signs that had political statements, it does have the implication that removing a campaign lawn sign may also infringe on First Amendment rights. 

It is also important to note that the removal of political signs is illegal in all 50 states, solidifying the act of removal as a radical act. 

To take a campaign sign is more than a novelty story; it is an intentional silencing of the ideas and stances the sign represents as well as an intentional erasure of those names from the forefront of the minds of voters on Election Day. 

My issue with this form of protest is that it silences those candidates’ presence and does little to spark conversation. Something interesting that a friend of mine has done is hang their newly acquired sign upside down. The reasoning for doing so is to make it clear for anyone who happens upon it that they do not agree with the views held by the candidate. 

Upon hearing this idea, I thought it would be interesting to integrate it into the protest of lawn sign removal. Similar to the upside-down peace sign, it could be seen as a symbol of disagreement with the commonly held notions of the sign. It could also be used to engage in a deeper conversation on political candidates and their views. 

Having a political lawn sign is already a talking piece, but having one that is upside down brings up even more questions. 

While this is far from a perfect solution to the polarizing nature of politics nowadays, I like to think that small actions can have bigger impacts. Engaging in conversations with others on candidates’ values is better than relying on name recognition alone. If it takes turning our politics upside down to help understand what is going on in the political landscape, so be it.