In our yard we have several campaign signs. We live on a busy corner and after we put up the first one or two people asked if they could add a couple more issue and candidates signs. We've only been in the neighborhood for a year, so it was really wonderful when my husband and I canvassed our neighborhood a couple weeks ago and were greeted with smiles when we would say as introduction that, "We live in the house with all the signs." I usually don't think much about them as we have always put campaign signs in the yard, but the other day it really hit home what a couple have come to mean to me.
Please join me below the orange love knot...
Until we could get a new Obama sign we were using the one from 2008. I put so much time into that election and was so proud the night Obama won. I had never before actively campaigned for a candidate, so I really felt invested in the win and there was no way I was giving up that sign. It wasn't in great shape after being in the elements for so long the last time, but it looked ok driving by.
As I said before, we live on a really busy corner and there is a lot of traffic and wind that whooshes by, so you can imagine what that does to plastic that is already worn. But determined not to give up on it until I had a new one, I mended it with tape and would go out every couple days to add more, prop it up, and make sure it didn't blow away. I kept this up until a few weeks ago when I got a new sign from the headquarters in town. I put the new sign in and decided that since we have such a large yard I would put the old one at the other end of the property so people would see it twice. I continued to mend the old one, but now it needed to be propped up with rocks so it wouldn't blow over.
I went to canvass in our old neighborhood this past weekend and they had some extra signs, so I thought it might be time to replace the old one as it was really starting to show all the places I had mended. I brought the new one home and put it in, but as you can probably guess I couldn't bring myself to get rid of the old one or put it in the garage. So I moved it to the back yard, close to the house where it is out of the elements, but still visible.
I've found these signs have become a metaphor for all that has happened the last few years and what can happen in the next four. Through the barrage of crap our President has dealt with, he has stayed the course. Although I haven't been happy with all that the administration has done, I feel that given the circumstances (the obstructionism from the right, and the worthless work of the MSM) a lot of good things have happened. Obama might be a little battered and a lot grayer, but he is still standing. So instead of incessant hand wringing, poll obsessing, and negativity I will prop him up, work to GOTV, and do what I can with a good attitude.
I like to think that new sign with its' brighter hue is the clean canvass and fresh start will get in November. After the election I look forward to both of them hanging out in my garage to remind me of why I got involved in the first place and why I kept the faith for the second term.