The Signs and Banners That Never Were

IMG_0699My neighbor has not displayed signs and banners from his porch in some time. Susan, his neighbor to whom his signs were directed has presumably finished her treatment and is doing well. Moreover, we know that the home owner’s association sent him a letter to stop hanging signs from his front porch because many of the neighbors complained. It is clear to me that this sign hanging neighbor has a creative urge to communicate to the public through the use of signs. It is equally clear to me that this urge has been squelched by the powers that be. I have to wonder, however, if this urge had not been squelched what new signs might we have seen?

WHAT SIGNS AND BANNERS MIGHT WE HAVE SEEN?

One has to wonder what new signs we might have seen displayed from my neighbor’s porch. Perhaps he might have found another neighbor who was suffering from a sickness or other misfortune to whom he might address a whole new series of signs. Perhaps he might start a running commentary on the current political situation. Perhaps he might continue his sign dialog (or monologue) with Susan on some topic other than her sickness and treatment.

The possibilities are literally limitless. Conceivably and idea could be translated into an image or words and then displayed from a sign. What if everybody started displaying signs from their porches to the people living across the street from them. What kind of world might evolve from that situation? What if we were all mandated by law to display signs from our front porch indicating our thoughts on various subjects? Obviously, in our free society, such a law would be unenforceable as well as unconstitutional. Still, we are free to speculate on what is, what is not and what might be.