The Yard Signs

My husband and I disagreed over whether our Shapiro yard signs were vandalized or if a deer had slashed through them. I find the deer hypothesis unlikely. They have been in our yard for months; the deer even longer. I typically put political signs up against the house, so if they’re messed with, the security cameras will catch it. My husband has been flirting with trouble for weeks, gradually moving them further toward the street. Deer don’t dally by the pavement; they’re too smart for that.

He called me paranoid. I think he can’t get his head around the idea that someone would take the time to stop in front of our house to trash our signs. It’s pretty juvenile. We do agree on that. But I prefer to think I’ve got my eyes wide open. People who voted for Trump based on economic concerns have by now become largely disillusioned, but MAGA still exists. And they are hardline, angry, probably a little scared, and yes, some are not the most mature.

Last week, I focused on Donald Trump’s inner circle, but there is a wider circle of ardent supporters – the people we all see sitting behind him during his speeches, wearing their signature red hats, sometimes looking bored or distracted, but all too often clapping and cheering at the most absurd claims he makes that keep him propped up as well. You may be like me when you see them and wonder how they could fall for some of what he is saying. I’ve thought about that a fair amount. I assume, in some cases, they don’t, but they support him hook, line, and sinker because he has given them a clear path to pursue their agenda. MAGA wasn’t born with Donald Trump; he just was sly enough to tap into the vein of discontent that began flowing when we elected Barack Obama, and he gave it a name and let it into the mainstream.

So, who are these people? Of course, America First is one of the tentpoles of the MAGA belief system, and the Iranian war seemingly violates that, but the Trump administration has reduced foreign aid and blown up international alliances and agreements, so he gets partial credit because they question America pouring money into other countries, allies or no. MAGA adherents were also drawn to the Trump populist anti-politician mystique, and while I make my case in my book that he may have been a populist candidate, he does not govern that way, but he is still a rebel in their eyes, bucking the political norms that they saw as threatening their view of nationalism. They favor a strong stance on immigration, and not necessarily just a closed border, but want a tightening of legal immigration as well. He’s clearly, violently, messily delivered on that front. MAGA is at its heart a socially conservative movement, and its members felt threatened by initiatives to broaden protections for minority groups, because it comes across to them as a threat to their moral worldview and way of life. And, of course, they are largely self-described as pro-life. I could argue that many of Robert Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) rollouts over the last almost two years are not life-affirming, but perhaps that is a whole article in and of itself. Are they bad people? Like the general population, it’s a mixed bag. But they are invested in a belief system that they will fight to maintain.

Of course, for MAGA adherents, just like the rest of us, the cost of groceries and gas is skyrocketing, and life is harder than it was a mere two years ago, but the 31% that still strongly approve of Donald Trump seem to feel that the items on their agenda that the Trump administration is protecting are worth that price. And the midterms are a threat to burst that bubble. So, yeah, I think it’s entirely possible that someone was immature enough to lash out at my Shapiro yard signs to serve notice that we haven’t silenced them yet.

What I worry about more than a couple of signs that I would be taking down next week anyway, and won’t at all affect how I vote, is how these same people will lash out if the projections of a blue wave do come to fruition. How will their Commander in Chief try and disrupt our duly held elections? What will he goad them into doing? I hope, and do believe, that most of even the most conservative of voters believe, like I do, in free and open elections and will accept whatever the results are. But, on the other hand, I never thought I’d see American citizens storm the Capitol, but now I have.

I must confess that I am both anxious for and anxious about next week’s elections. This is a fear I never thought I would need to have in this country. Perhaps that was naïve, but I did grow up in the ideological bubble that we as a country could disagree, sometimes strongly, about politics, but we would peacefully accept election results, whatever they might be. Now I’m not sure. I hope that my husband is right, and I am just paranoid, and Americans, even MAGA Americans, will respect the most sacred of American rights: the right to vote.

There is only one way to find out, and that’s to move forward. Make sure you have made your plan to vote. Know your rights. Know your responsibilities. And, most importantly, know that your vote matters. It’s okay to be nervous if you are. I clearly am. But I’m tired of that feeling, and this is the first step to putting that fear and nervousness to rest.

See you next Tuesday.