Signs of Uncivility

It’s political sign season in my home community, as it is everywhere. In the county where I live, political signs proliferate almost every spring and fall, mostly for candidates in local races, less often for those at the national level, perhaps because Oregon is not a swing state, and because national races are pretty much decided before our polls close.

There are several notable exceptions in my hometown, though, of signs supporting a national candidate and which show that we are an uncivil people, and also uncivilized. The first, on a flagpole blocks from my home, has been proudly proclaiming “F*** Joe Biden!” for several years now. Except, of course, the asterisks are letters. Even the “Let’s Go Brandon!” bumper sticker on a car parked near that house shows a bit more taste, by the smallest of margins.

Faith, Not Fear?

Another sign was brought to my attention by a parent two weeks ago. Her children encountered the political display every day on their way to work. Actually, the sign—a run-of-mill Trump/Vance number—wasn’t offensive (except in the existential way that Trump and Vance might feel offensive to some), but the yard’s various other accoutrements felt more than a little threatening.

A few houses down from an elementary school, and next to a bus stop for middle and high school students, someone has decorated his yard with Trump signs, but also with a giant stuffed bear, sitting in a lawn with a gun in his lap. A hatchet leans near the bear, and the homeowner continues to add stuffed animals to the mix, a display that seems oddly menacing and also, just odd. Perhaps ironically,  over the gun-toting bear’s shoulder, another sign announces “Let Faith, Not Fear, Be Your Compass.”

Which is a good message, if just a tad ironic.

A parent apparently called the local police, who talked with the owner.  It’s his Halloween décor, the owner claimed, and also his First Amendment rights.  Although kids have reported feeling threatened by the display, he is not required to take his display down—nor is the F*** Joe Biden! owner, for that matter, even though kids also live in that neighborhood, and catch a bus right across the street, getting a clear shot of such crass incivility every morning before school.

Protecting Children’s Innocence

Our community has been roiled the last few years, divided by arguments over other signs that were considered so indecent, the local school board banned them from classrooms in 2021, arguing that they indoctrinated students, and that they made white students uncomfortable. The policy, ruled unconstitutional by a Yamhill County judge, said that Black Lives Matter posters and Pride flags could not be displayed in our public schools.

According to one board member, the flags represented ideologies that did not represent our town’s family values. The fallout from this ban has destroyed our school district, something I’ve addressed in earlier blog posts (here and here).

Of course, one of the most vocal supporters of our district’s flag ban showed up to school board meetings wearing a “Let’s Go Brandon!” t-shirt, because our town’s family values apparently don’t include crass slogans aimed at our country’s current president.

However uncivil, and uncivilized, the First Amendment makes it possible for that person to emblazon a coarse emblem across his chest. The guy with Halloween décor that feels so threatening to kids passing by also has a right to menace others with his homage to the Second Amendment, and to Donald J. Trump, as does the house proudly condemning President Biden with swear words.

But when a Pride flag rends a community in two because of the ideology it presumably represents, I have to wonder about the sincerity of those who argue they are protecting children’s innocence, especially when the signs they proudly display show exactly how uncivil—and uncivilized—they really are.