Sometimes the biggest things manifest in the smallest ways. I’ve lived in Texas off an on for over twenty years. Halloween has never been a major event. Evangelicals don’t particularly like the holiday. There is some drinking associated with it, but I’ve had maybe ten kids come to the door trick or treating in the last ten years. You rarely see houses decorated for Halloween around here.
Things seem to be changing this year. I went for a drive with my wife today in rural east/central Texas (think Austin County). No Trump signs, a couple Clinton signs (impressive because the only way to get those particular Clinton/Kaine signs is from the local or state Democratic Party). A lot of houses with Halloween decorations.
Yesterday, I was blockwalking with the local Democratic Party. One Hispanic woman with children on our walk explained what we were seeing. She didn’t feel comfortable putting political signs in here yard in what has been a very conservative community. Instead she put up Halloween decorations.
And when you stop to think about it, that might be a bigger change than a couple of yard signs. A skeleton on the door is a rejection of the way things have been done. A call for a community that puts greater emphasis on it’s children, and a challenge to Evangelicals that don’t seem to care much about family values right now.
Maybe it’s simply that I didn’t notice the decorations before. Then again sometimes the biggest changes show up in the smallest ways.