ran 5.8 milesToday was Election Day for Louisiana. In my hometown of Lafayette we voted for nine district councilmen or women, Lafayette City/Parish President, consolidation or de-consolidation, judges were on the ballot, some important amendments were presented, we voted for governor and lieutenant governor, and more.
There is something that irks me throughout every one of these election seasons, though. It’s the signs. These signs are everywhere. Every time I drive by one I want to pull it out of the ground and put it in the yard of whoever's name is on it. Let them collect there instead of on the side of every street we drive on.
The pictures above are from a boulevard leading up to a voting precinct in Lafayette. It looks like a thin, grassy strip of multi-colored vinyl tombstones laid down haphazardly in oddly dimensioned 6’ by 120’ strips. As you drive by you feel you are being screamed at by colors and names that change so quickly you can’t make sense of any of it.
But I get it. It is what it is. We voters are all whimsical subterraneans who lack the ability to form our own decisions within two seconds of pulling into the voting precinct, which those in higher elevations who are running for office find an opportunity to sway we feeble-minded voters. These signs and the abundance in which they are chaotically piled one upon another are ugly and insulting. And, unfortunately, they are obviously effective. Otherwise, the act of putting 800 different signs on a 10’ by 10’ strip of grass would not have endured for as long as it has. It is a reflection of how superficially voters can be swayed at the last second and how predictable those who run for office assume our intelligence to be.
It costs a lot of money to get elected, and the higher the position the more money. We accept this fact because it has been this way for so long, but it is a shame. It is further evidence that money buys all, even though we all know better.
824.7 miles to go.
Here is what happened one year ago on Day54.
There is something that irks me throughout every one of these election seasons, though. It’s the signs. These signs are everywhere. Every time I drive by one I want to pull it out of the ground and put it in the yard of whoever's name is on it. Let them collect there instead of on the side of every street we drive on.
The pictures above are from a boulevard leading up to a voting precinct in Lafayette. It looks like a thin, grassy strip of multi-colored vinyl tombstones laid down haphazardly in oddly dimensioned 6’ by 120’ strips. As you drive by you feel you are being screamed at by colors and names that change so quickly you can’t make sense of any of it.
But I get it. It is what it is. We voters are all whimsical subterraneans who lack the ability to form our own decisions within two seconds of pulling into the voting precinct, which those in higher elevations who are running for office find an opportunity to sway we feeble-minded voters. These signs and the abundance in which they are chaotically piled one upon another are ugly and insulting. And, unfortunately, they are obviously effective. Otherwise, the act of putting 800 different signs on a 10’ by 10’ strip of grass would not have endured for as long as it has. It is a reflection of how superficially voters can be swayed at the last second and how predictable those who run for office assume our intelligence to be.
It costs a lot of money to get elected, and the higher the position the more money. We accept this fact because it has been this way for so long, but it is a shame. It is further evidence that money buys all, even though we all know better.
824.7 miles to go.
Here is what happened one year ago on Day54.
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