Ms. Nat Goes to Washington Wearing a Violet* Hat

I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. --Voltaire

Anyone lived in a pretty how town (with up so floating many bells down) . . .--E.E. Cummings

In this country there is a town. A town that leans more red than blue. And in this more red than blue town there is a street that is political sign waving red. The street is one mile long and has multi million dollar wide lawn house after multi million dollar wide lawn house. And on this affluent red street lives the mayor of the town that leans more red than blue. And the mayor, of course, is red, like most of his neighbors--even the one across the street that, as rumor has it, is a little bit of a crooked city council man.

As you drive down the red street with the beautiful big houses and pass red sign after red sign you come to the widest lawn of all. The house on this lawn is modest by comparison even though once upon a time all the wide lawns on the street use to be this house's front, back and side lawns. That's right, even the mayor's and that crooked city council man's house used to be owned by the modest house with the widest lawn of all.

The thing that is different about this house, the one with the widest lawn, is that this house has a little blue sign in front of it.

Or rather it did.

The person who lives in the house with the widest lawn kept finding her little blue sign taken down and tossed in the bushes.

So she went and bought more blue signs and put them up.

After all, the other houses got to put up their red signs, shouldn't she get to put up her blue sign?

This is America right?

One would think.

But not on a red street. I guess blue just isn't done.

To discourage the blue sign stealing the person who thought blue devised a sign protection plan.

First it was grease on the sign to discourage touching the sign.

This did not discourage the sign taking down. The sign trashing and tossing in the bushes continued.

Next in the sign line of dense was push pins.

But the wily sign vandals just rearranged the push pins and stuck them a la voodoo doll like in the blue sign's namesake.

So the lady who thought blue went and bought more blue signs and pinned some to her magnolia trees, her fence and mailbox. She bought little tiny American flags and balloons with American flags on them and tied them on the blue signs.

And the signs were left alone.

For awhile.

Then the mayor had his annual mayor's ball.

A pig roast.

Oh dear, ironies abound!

And the next morning the blue sign carnage was severe. Even the balloons and flags were destroyed.


But all the little red signs remained perfectly intact. Especially those in the front of the mayor's yard and that rumored crooked city council man's lawn.

Isn't that a heart warming story? Doesn't it make you proud to be an American?


I am in that small percentage of undecided voters. This of course upsets my friends and my family members who are decided-- regardless which side of the fence they sit on. Most were decided a long time ago because they vote party lines. And admittedly, I do tend to lean one way but, well, I am just so upset by both choices that I'm seriously afraid to lean either way. I am teetering on a violet line and it is seriously hard for me to choose. Neither choice seems the right choice-- but each for very different reasons.

Truthfully, I am a little sick about all of it.

But what troubles me most is that if I even so much as mention to a friend or family member that I might be thinking about the candidate that is NOT of their choosing, well then I get a 'talking' to like I am some idiot who can not form her own intelligent opinion.

Just so you know, I take great offense at being told how to think--even if I might agree with you. It is one of the very reasons that I do not attend church. I prefer to stay away from the cult like thinking. It makes me very uncomfortable. I want to form my own thoughts, opinions and because of this I also try very hard to be respectful of others thoughts, opinions--even if I disagree.

The bottom line is I absolutely do not want to be told what to think or more specifically how to vote. We can still be friends (or enemies) even if I think differently from you.

It has just gotten too hostile and I refuse to be berated for something that I understand is one of my rights as a US citizen. That is why this is a democracy, right? We have a choice. We get to choose!

Even if we disagree with it.

When I do decide who I am going to vote for (I still have a few weeks to nail down my choice!)I am definitely not telling anyone. So don't ask. It isn't any of your business and my reasons for my choice probably will not mean that I was at all 100% behind the candidate anyway so we still won't agree. Heck, I'll be lucky if I can find 60% that I agree on with the candidate.

So please, let this post serve as a reminder that while you may not agree with other people's choice of presidential candidate you should still be respectful of their right to choose. Leave people's signs and bumper stickers alone. It is just an opinion and you know what they say about opinions . . .

Be grateful that you live in a country that allows you to have choices.

That's all. Tomorrow this blog will return to its regularly scheduled frivolity.

*note: red and blue make purple but I hate the color purple. No offense meant to Alice Walker though.