Voters need to know we feel them
On the Adapt Or Die subject, I was back out on the overpass during drive-time Friday afternoon with another sign (above). I used a smaller version while standing downtown with some veterans last week. One remarked that a large box of Cheerios costs over $6. I checked that aisle in my neighborhood grocery store. He was right.
I had some observations last week when the sign I held read “A DECENT LIFE SHOULDN’T BE THIS HARD.” I simply added this week’s message to the back of the reused 24″x36″ corrugated plastic campaign sign. This meant the “Decent Life” message was visible to pedestrians and cars passing behind me on the overpass. (It’s a low-traffic street.)
Traffic was lighter and cars driving faster than last week, so the interactions with “Groceries Cheaper” were fewer than the week before when traffic was stop-and-go. There were still fist-pumps, waves, and thumbs-ups from the interstate. There was also a double middle finger from one driver who didn’t appreciate being reminded what she’d voted for in 2024 vs. what she actually got.
But it was the reaction to “Decent Life” on the overpass that continued to surprise me. It came from younger voters (assuming they do). One young guy stopped and asked me to reposition so he could take a picture of that side. (“Hard” had been partially obscured.)
Two young women walked by and said they liked “Decent Life” (as two women last week had). I spun the “Groceries Cheaper” side around. They liked it too but preferred “Decent Life.” Multiple drivers passing over the bridge honked their approval of “Decent Life.”
I’m not trying to compete with the tested messages my friend Anat crafts, or even recommending “Decent Life” to candidates. I’m not a messaging expert, just limited to four to seven words large enough to be read from moving cars 75-100 feet away. I’m interested in “Sign Guy” coming off as a trusted messenger to a mixed automotive audience before moving on to edgier or more niche messages. It seems younger residents connect with how uncertain their life prospects are in the 21st century.
Before evangelizing this low-voting cohort or preaching the evils of MAGA , if Democrats ever attempt rebranding themselves, they might want to consider telling younger voters that they understand their struggles by mirroring their concerns back to them. Seems I somehow did that in seven words.
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