A SIGN SAYS A THOUSAND WORDS

By Julianna Distante, 2021

Published 4/26/21

The volatile, temperamental climate we experience everyday via social media has made its way into the very town we live in. In recent days, driving around the Town of Cheshire, I’ve realized there are quite the variety of opinions on issues relating to human rights, climate change, and political candidates. The interesting part; these views have taken shape on a rectangular, plastic sign or flag on the resident's properties. As I drove around Cheshire this weekend, I realized for the first time in the past 18 years I’ve lived here, just how drastically and fundamentally different those views are.

I saw signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “Character Matters -MLK”. I knew instantly those would be the people I would want to have as my neighbors. Kind, compassionate people who care about others and their fundamental rights as equal human beings. If you have a sign like this on your front yard, you immediately show me exactly where you stand on the political spectrum. Your values, beliefs, ideals, everything is reflected on that seemingly simple poster board. This information, in turn, determines my affiliation with you as well.

The situation is simple; which promotional item would you rather your neighbor have on their lawn? A “Black Lives Matter” sign or a flag flying high underneath an American Flag, with an enlarged assault rifle on it reading “Come and Take It.” It’s quite comical when you put it in the simplest of terms. No one wants a trigger happy (pun intended) neighbor who cares so much about their guns they actually purchase a flag to hang in front of their house with pride. Personally, I could never understand why you would ever support something that has taken the lives of so many.

Another thing I’ll never in my life understand; why one would proudly boast and support a man who lost a fair election. The amount of “Trump 2020” flags and signs I’ve seen on people’s lawns in the Town of Cheshire absolutely blows my mind. The sheer rationale behind supporting the ideas associated with “Trump 2020” is something I never understood in the first place. But the foolishness in promoting that with the year 2020 on it is comical enough to tell you exactly who you’re dealing with; someone who supports a man who led (metaphorically of course) white supremacists and domestic terrorists into our nation’s capitol while he laughed with his family, out of harm's way. 2020 is over and so is Trump; so move on.

I’ve always perceived Cheshire as a fair mix of liberal and conservative, and the political paraphernalia has followed suit from what I’ve seen. But I just know Cheshire is better than assault rifle flags and I sincerely hope for better.