Things Are Getting Weird Up Here
By: Edy Stoughton
Tags: Biden, Politics, Community, Elections, Trump

Things Are Getting Weird Up Here

Anyone who isn’t aware that our country is deeply divided is definitely not paying attention.

Photo courtesy of author

Americans are polarized and full of anger. But we in our little village in Northern Michigan believe we are different. We are convinced that we aren’t like people in the cities who always seem to be mad about something. We understand the need for civility in a place where everyone is on a first name basis.

My tiny village, perched on picturesque bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan, is a good place to live. The round table in the General Store is occupied by the men’s coffee group on Monday mornings and then by the gathering of women knitters on Thursday afternoons. When a popular clerk at that store had a stroke, a group of townsfolk got together and built a ramp to his front door to surprise him on his return from the hospital. When our school children lost the school lunch program due to the pandemic, the donations to provide food were overwhelming.

The citizens of our village have never claimed to be perfect. We have our share of eccentricities and resentments, but we are more in the “live and let live” camp, putting up with each others’ foibles. But that was before things started to get weird up here.

The weirdness started with a smattering of political yard signs. They were mostly Trump signs in the beginning, which upset Biden supporters who hurried to catch up. Soon taking a drive included the popular activity of counting the number of signs in each political camp. The Yard Sign War had begun. Some homes displayed multiple signs and, to even out the count, signs were destroyed or stolen. Arguments erupted over the placement of signs in vacant fields and on public land.

The competition ramped up and soon we began seeing massive Biden signs and gigantic Trump flags — “yard signs on steroids” — proclaiming super partisanship. At first it seemed to be a rather harmless, slightly silly competition, but something darker was happening.

Harsh words hurled across the political divide have turned into threats. Instead of political choice being a difference of opinion, it is an indication of what kind of person you are. Relationships suffer, friendships are at risk and neighborliness is a thing of the past if you have an allegiance to a different candidate. We have friends who live on our street with whom we have spent many enjoyable social times, including sharing Thanksgiving dinner one year when none of our children were able to be here. But the day a Trump sign appeared in their yard our friendship changed. Now when I pass their house, instead of a cheery wave, I mutter with gritted teeth about what I would like to tell them about their stupid sign. I’m not proud of the fact that I am now on the level with a woman I know who lives in a condominium in Scottsdale and told me that she puts a “mental black X” beside the name of every fellow resident who displays a Trump sign. But I can’t seem to change my visceral reaction.

What is getting weird is the rage, the bitterness, and the disruption of relationships. The stakes have become high — and ugly.

“If you set foot on my property, you won’t make it out alive!” A local farmer, known fondly for open-handedly sharing his produce with local people, shouted those words to a neighbor recently. Every Fall his fields are filled with colorful pumpkins and other cheery seasonal decorations. This year the corncobs and scarecrows have been supplanted by 16 political yard signs and three super-size banners. One of the signs was based on the Pure Michigan slogan and proclaimed that the Governor of Michigan is an Idiot and a Pure Moron. The fight was started by a neighbor’s threat to tear down the new Confederate flag flying over his barn.

An isolated farm farther from town also sported the Idiot sign but had raised the stakes by placing next to it a hand lettered wooden placard proclaiming that “Socialist distancing” was practiced there followed a lengthy rant about Antifa’s capture of our state government, comparing them with Hitler’s brown shirts. Since a plot to kidnap the Governor of Michigan was uncovered recently, the signs targeting her are particularly chilling.

There is one thing that can’t be destroyed by political ugliness — the stunning beauty of autumn in the north. People come from all over to experience the reds and golds and flaming oranges of our tree-covered hills. I was feeling particularly tranquil last week as I drove into town through the brilliant colors when suddenly I rounded a curve and saw a jarring sight. A wooden barricade had been set up beside a winding trail. Someone had lettered on the unpainted boards a warning that anyone who was a fan of Biden had better not stop there. My first thought was, what would happen if someone did stop? What if someone had a flat tire at that very spot, or was lost? I stopped briefly to take a snapshot and felt fearful that someone with a shotgun was watching for someone like me. I feared for my little town — and for all of us.

What will happen after this election? Will we be able to look back on the craziness of these times and move on? Will I? Or has something been lost that can’t be brought back? Will our village come back together as a community, enjoying monthly potluck dinners and gathering at the one-room post office every day to hear the latest town news? Will we renew friendships that became strained or will we struggle to get back the good feelings we used to have only to find that things won’t be ever be the same again?

A friend told me recently that if Biden wins she believes her family won’t speak to her for at least six months. We frequently hear that the side that loses this bitter contest will find it almost impossible to accept defeat. Yet, I think it is deeper than that. I think winner and losers alike will find it hard to forgive and forget. No matter who wins, we all have lost.

Political yard signs are a clear symbol of identification. That is their purpose. They signify such a level of approval of that person that they want everyone to know what camp the homeowner is in. If that sign of approval is for someone I despise and whose values I don’t respect, it is hard for me to ignore that. I remember a few bullying incidents I witnessed during my school days. Of course the bully was despicable, but those children who stood by encouraging the bully by approving of his behavior and cheering him on were equally guilty.

I want to believe the best. I imagine that the local farmer will return to his usual cheery fall decorations next year and we will share many more social evenings with our friends down the street. We may even share Thanksgiving again. But I don’t know that I will be able to wipe the sight of those Trump signs away, no matter who is victorious in November. I worry that something has unraveled in our little village that can’t be easily repaired. Some words cannot be taken back. It is all so very sad.