Three Changes I’ve Made During The 2012 Presidential Election Campaign

/ Ally Bean

1.  I’ve started watching CBS news.  I used to watch ABC, but our local affiliate could not shut up about the national election.  It was weird.

So I clicked over onto CBS and discovered that our local affiliate talked about [get this] local news & weather & traffic.  And that CBS This Morning with Charlie Rose, Gayle King & Norah O’Donnell is a delight.  No sales pitches. No silliness. No crowds of onlookers.  Just [get this] news & intelligent discussion & quiet humor.

In other words, my kind of people.

2.  I decided to boycott a business because this small, local business put up way too many political signs in front of its store.  While it is a right for any business to do this, it is also my right to stop frequenting an establishment because of it.  There are consequences for extreme partisanship– and one is the loss of customers who believe that politics is a personal matter, not part of a business plan.

[In fairness, I cannot take credit for this idea.  A friend pointed out to me that she had stopped going to her doctor because this doctor had become so blatantly political outside & inside her practice, that my friend walked away from the practice.]

There is a time & place for all things.

3.  I have learned to drive more slowly and with much more awareness.  Those darned lawn signs obscure who or what might be darting out from behind them.  Small children & pets are drawn to those signs, and more than once I’ve hit the brakes while driving through suburbia because I’ve noticed suspicious movement around the signs.

I understand that to many people political signs are a right… a need… an important way to make a difference.  So if you do put them out in front of your property, please consider putting them up close to your house instead of by the street.  I know they’ll be less visible, but doing such might avert a horrible accident.

Just saying, no offense intended…

12 thoughts on “Three Changes I’ve Made During The 2012 Presidential Election Campaign”

  1. Charlie Rose reports the news with intelligence, kindness and wit.
    My morning news source also. He reminds me of Dick Cavett, a
    sensitive intellectual that will make you think and smile.

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  2. I’ll stick with NPR. I personally don’t like political signs or bumper stickers. I don’t see how we can heal this country while we are stuck in this us v. them mindset. When was the last time the congress worked together rather than just try to thwart the other party?

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    • kate, next time I’m going to follow your lead and not answer the phone. While I was flattered by all the celebrities calling me, I just found their opinions to be too intense for me. 😉

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  5. We do heavy phone screening with our caller ID. I’m not willing to talk to any political people on the phone. My mind was made up long ago! I admire your actions!

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    • Margaret, next time I’ll not be available for phone interviews! Or to listen to rhetoric. I’ve learned my lesson: no act of kindness goes unpunished during election season.

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  6. I didn’t do any yard signs this year. My neighbors know who I’m voting for by my rainbow flag. I do like a good bumper sticker though. I hate when businesses take sides. On personal FB streams? Fine, they are people who should have a voice, but businesses should be about people not political parties. I also wonder if newspapers should be in the endorsing people? Shouldn’t they just be reporting?

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    • Alex, I think that you have a good point about the newspaper endorsements. I’d never thought of that before, but now that you mention it newspapers are businesses. And why do they think that they need to tell readers who to vote for? Just give me the facts & I’ll put together my own conclusions.

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