The Election on Our Lawns
November 6, 2008
The latest Old Roads video essay examines how the election looked in Appleton, Wisconsin from the standpoint of our front lawns and windows. The notion that lies behind this is that there are lots of intense moments in the election.. like when a candidate visits the area or a national debate. But what's more interesting are all the small ways that people introduce symbolic statements into their own public spaces. As it happens, I was surprised at the rarity of really individual expression with respect to the election. Four years ago in Atlanta I saw many more direct personal statements on lawns. My sense is that the Midwest is less comfortable with that kind of open political expression in public space.
