posted by Mike Madison at 2:48 PM /
More sign shenanigans in Mt. Lebanon: Signs stolen, signs defaced. Undoubtedly Obama and McCain supporters are both to blame. What a town this is.
Sign theft and sign defacement is shameful. The people who take the signs and those who deface them are cretinous thugs.
But.
The problem with sign theft and sign defacement is *not* that it is theft of private property, or that it is vandalism. It is both of those, but in the scheme of things, those sins are relatively minor. If you paid for a sign, you didn't pay much, and after the election, most people will throw the signs away anyway. I've heard people invite sign theft: steal my sign, and I'll buy another. More money for my candidate! Thanks!
The *real* problem with sign damage is that it deprives the sign owner of the one single thing that Americans have and prize in greater quantities than do the citizens of any other country: voice in the political process. Those signs represent our speech, and they represent the most important speech we have: political speech. Signage is citizenry, on a massive and important scale.
Regarding speech, sign theft is bullying and intimidation, cowardly (like all bullying) and fundamentally anti-American. Not just un-American, but anti-American. All victims of sign theft can weep for their lost property, but they should really cry over the implicit message directed their way: You tried to speak, and you were told "no." If the police catch the perpetrators, the district justice should sentence them to democracy training: 30 days to read and report on The Federalist Papers.
On Tuesday, whoever you support, speak out. Use signs, buttons, t-shirts, bumper stickers, and above all your vote. Make yours count.
Sign theft and sign defacement is shameful. The people who take the signs and those who deface them are cretinous thugs.
But.
The problem with sign theft and sign defacement is *not* that it is theft of private property, or that it is vandalism. It is both of those, but in the scheme of things, those sins are relatively minor. If you paid for a sign, you didn't pay much, and after the election, most people will throw the signs away anyway. I've heard people invite sign theft: steal my sign, and I'll buy another. More money for my candidate! Thanks!
The *real* problem with sign damage is that it deprives the sign owner of the one single thing that Americans have and prize in greater quantities than do the citizens of any other country: voice in the political process. Those signs represent our speech, and they represent the most important speech we have: political speech. Signage is citizenry, on a massive and important scale.
Regarding speech, sign theft is bullying and intimidation, cowardly (like all bullying) and fundamentally anti-American. Not just un-American, but anti-American. All victims of sign theft can weep for their lost property, but they should really cry over the implicit message directed their way: You tried to speak, and you were told "no." If the police catch the perpetrators, the district justice should sentence them to democracy training: 30 days to read and report on The Federalist Papers.
On Tuesday, whoever you support, speak out. Use signs, buttons, t-shirts, bumper stickers, and above all your vote. Make yours count.
Labels: that is all
8 Comments:
Federalist Papers Mike? How about a book on how much our men went through to gain our independence? I'm almost done reading "Almost a Miracle." It's about 500 pages longer than the Federalist Papers.
Yes, the Federalist Papers. If modern democracy is going to work, then we have to call on disciplines of citizenship that pre-date American independence.
Okay, well I'm a big fan of Hamilton, the most under appreciated and most gifted of the founding fathers, so Federalist Papers it is.
Perfectly stated. Thanks Mike!
And I *LOVE* the suggested sentence for the perps.
All the Obama signs on Roycroft, but interestingly enough none of the McCain signs, were stolen on Devils Night (Oct 30th). We've replaced them all, but it is sad that the only "free expression" some people seem capable of finding is depriving others of their right to free expression.
BTW, I blogged about my lost sign and it appears to be a fairly common problem. I say: throw the book, er, Federalist Papers, at 'em!
I followed Fen's link and found Peter Frampton complaining about disappearing signs. Peter F. uses the expected rhetoric about his "rights" being violated, specifically the "right" to free speech.
He's wrong. Down with rights. Talking about "rights" and "free speech" confuses the issue. When your yard sign is stolen, no one is interfering with your "right" to "free speech." The thief is interfering with your speech, which is what makes you free.
My wife says you should explain all this to Sarah Palin - she needs the help.
Library of Congress version of The Federalist Papers.
Speaking of The Federalist Papers, isn't it odd how Federalism today means the exact opposite of what it meant back in the days of Hamilton? It's also odd how liberalism is such a horrible thing even though liberalism was actually the belief in lassez faire capitalism. How odd indeed. Who is responsible for flipping these things around?!
Last but not least, remember when people actually knew the definition of socialism? It's funny how progressive taxation is now called socialism. I guess that means we have been socialist ever since Teddy Roosevelt, John McCain's hero, introduced progressive taxation 100+ years ago.
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