On a recent walk, I came across a neighborhood littered with the yard sign in this photo. It seems the provocative platitudes we’ve seen on bumper stickers for a century have now taken root in our yards.
And for the same reason: To tell the world that the sign-planter holds wonderful beliefs that he’s willing to impose upon and attribute to the rest of his family. It’s surely not because the sign-planter thinks he’s persuading anyone of the rightness of his position, as if the neighbors reading the sign will say to themselves, “Gee, ‘Democracy dies in darkness’ is a great point. I’d never thought of it that way.”
OK, people preen. And leftists impose their beliefs on others. It’s what they do. But this one is stupid.
First, “Science is Real” is gibberish. The issue is not whether science is real or fake. The issue is whether enough data has been collected, sorted and analyzed correctly to arrive at a factual explanation for the particular subject under investigation. Science is not a thing, but a methodology. Science is the process of collecting data and rigorously analyzing it to understand a natural phenomenon.
To say “Science is Real” shows a fundamental lack of understanding about science. It’s like saying, “anthropology is real” or “chemistry is real.” I’ve known many scientists and not one has ever said, “Science is Real.”
Bear in mind too that this “Science is Real” tripe comes from the people who think a fetus is not alive until the mother decides it is, and only for so long as she doesn’t change her mind.
As for “Democracy dies in Darkness,” that’s a slogan adopted recently by the Washington Post. You know, the newspaper bought by Jeff Bezos with a sliver of his Amazon fortune for propaganda propagation. For illuminating such “stories” as the Russian collusion hoax and burying such stories as the incriminating Hunter Biden laptop where he promised to share 10% of foreign government payola with his dad.
I agree that democracy dies in darkness, but it takes a lot more gumption than a yard sign to keep it alive.
Then there’s “Black Lives Do Matter.” The addition of “Do” pretends to be an effort to persuade people who think black lives don’t matter that in fact they do. Unless, it’s understood, those black lives are unborn ones, which account for a highly disproportionate number of American abortions or those black lives are those of young black men who are murdered by other young black men, which is the main cause of death among young black men.
But there are no such people. Nobody – not a single person – thinks black lives don’t matter. I think black lives matter, just as I think brown, yellow, white and red lives matter. I think all lives matter. That’s where all decent people come out.
But it’s impermissible to say so. We’re scolded that “all lives matter” is racist. And so, people don’t say it for fear of being name-called.
Think about that for a second. Non-black Americans – 87% of America – have been bullied into denying that their own lives matter.
“Affordable Health Care is a Right” sounds nice. But what’s “affordable” mean? Does “affordable” mean it’s free? And what’s “health care”? Does that include wart removal? Eyeglasses? Hearing aids? Dentistry? Tummy tucks and wrinkle smoothing?
And since we’re talking about things that should be affordable as a matter of right, what about food and shelter? And where’s the source of this “right”? Is this another one of those unwritten rights in the penumbra of the Constitution alongside the right to kill those unalive/alive/unalive fetuses?
Does the fetus have the right to affordable health care too? That could get interesting.
“No Human is Illegal” deliberately mischaracterizes the debate over illegal immigration. No one contends that a person entering the country illegally is an illegal human. Rather, they contend that such a person has committed an illegal act.
Note that Americans opposed to this law-breaking at the border do not call the law-breakers “illegal humans.” They call them “illegal immigrants.” Because they have immigrated illegally.
If I author a yard sign like this, maybe I should include, “Sophistry and Demagoguery are no Substitute for Good Faith Discussion.”
“Water is Life” is simply false. Water is not life. Water is a simple molecule with the chemical name “dihydrogen monoxide.” It’s not alive.
The contention that water is alive reminds me of the theory of spontaneous generation which was widely accepted up until the 17th century. The theory was that life arose spontaneously out of suitable habitats. Mudpuddles generated frogs and nighttime generated bats. The theory was simple, elegant and wrong.
How ironic that a sign that begins by blaring sanctimoniously that “Science is Real” goes on to make statements that the scientific method irrefutably proved false three hundred years ago. No, water is not alive.
But a fetus irrefutably is. Notice that the sign conspicuously fails to state “A fetus is alive.”
Finally, “Kindness is Everything” is inconsistent with the preceding six proclamations. If kindness is everything, then the other six are redundant to that.
And speaking of kindness and the “everything” nature of it, how does the sign-planter come out on kindness to those unborn fetuses? And how do they come out on kindness to Republicans? And kindness to young black men murdered by other young black men? Seems “kindness is everything” but only kindness to the correct persons under the correct circumstances. In other words, to them, it’s not everything at all. It’s just a slogan.
What are we left with? We’re left with an embarrassingly stupid attempt at virtue signaling by embarrassingly stupid people.
the Aspen beat 
To the people with the signs: Your actions matter more than your opinion.
If people think killing unborn babies is ok, what else is there? A sad state of affairs.
This work is brilliant.
“Brilliant” is exactly the word that occurred to me as I was reading the piece just a few weeks late. Yes! Brilliant, and maybe even more than that. Beaton has an excellent and very covincing way of displaying his analysis, with great command of English and the rules that make it clear. Keep up the great work for us Glenn!
So well written…I am always in awe of your writing…brilliant.
“Democracy died in the dark” is not a slogan. It is a mission statement…
Dies…
One of your best pieces ever, Glenn. That people can think, feel and say such things testifies to the complete, utter failure of what used to be called a liberal education, now increasingly dominated by revivified Marxists. Our schools and universities have only “liberated” us to be “embarrassingly stupid,” as you say, free at last from reason, common sense, and fundamental human sympathies — the things evoked so tenderly and ironically in works such as the now-canceled “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” whose title character derived a real education from real human experiences.
Not an oxymoron. The two are inextricably linked.
People who virtue signal are fuzzy thinkers who have not taken the time and effort necessary to form clear opinions about who they are, what they believe, whence they came, and where they are going. They simply plod along with the herd (currently in-vogue group social behavior) ostentatiously informing the world that they are OK, acceptable, sanctioned, like all the others. When this thinking is out and replaced with the next social fad, they simply will change their yard signs and bumper stickers.
Well written, yes. You are an undeniably competent journalist. Well written and silly, not worthy of you intellect. You are taking statements that you damn well know are symbolic and applying logic to them as if they were intended literally. Take “water is life.” It’s shorthand for “Life as we know it cannot exist without sufficient water.” Or “Black Lives Matter;” It means “Black lives matter as much as white lives, our society doesn’t behave as if they do, and we want that to change.”
Ah yes, “symbolic statements,” indeed. Precisely the problem, dear rkd. (May I call you rkd, or do you prefer1fc19c5b0160? Wouldn’t want to offend.) The entire subtext of Glenn’s article is that for the people who post such inane, insipid signs, it is the virtue signal that matters, not the substance. I dare say that these people would no sooner live up to their posturings than they would: take a homeless person in to their own home (especially a black one); pay out-of-pocket for medical care of anyone not in their immediate family; legally adopt one of the current crop of illegal minors being allowed into the country; be “kind” to another person who does not share their “progressive” beliefs. In other words, they clearly demonstrate that mere words are frequently dsempty gestures and, as Holy Scripture tells us, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Mt. 7:16. I have no direct knowledge of this, but, “applying logic” to the situation, I have a very good chance of being accurate in my observations.
If Glenn is a bit cranky about the “Water is life” slogan, perhaps it’s because he senses its built-in animus toward agriculture, industry, and capitalism in general, which have sustained us far beyond our ancestors’ wildest dreams. He’s probably also aware of a lawsuit filed recently on behalf of the Colorado River as “a person” whose “rights” have been violated. That’s the kind of “embarrassingly stupid” stuff embedded in this yard sign.
Also, it should be patently obvious that black lives matter to Black Lives Matter only as a wedge issue by which to divide and conquer a constitutional republic that Marxists despise. Black cops’ and store owners’ lives clearly do NOT matter, nor do white lives such as that belonging to Ashli Babbitt.
Mr rkd1fc: Really, just go back and read the Aspen Times and you will be a happier person. Do there your deconstruction on your lib/lefty/”progressive”/moral relativist/subjectivist/humanist/secularist/Democrat diktats, and then go over in the corner and have sex with yourself. It will be glorious for you.
Hint: Glenn Beaton understands and we his loyal readers understand, the intent, the purpose, and any literal or suggestive value of and these virtue signalling signs, much, much, MUCH, better than you do.
We are glad you asked, just thrilled, delighted. Anytime, just anytime. Really. Would we kid you?
We call that sign the “Please leave my house alone” plea. I saw a few in my neighborhood back late last fall (around the election). The signs seem to have gone away, probably due to being made cheaply.
I remember seeing one while taking my kids trick-or-treating. I remarked to the homeowner, “You know, some day the mob will come after you too.” He slammed the door on me.
When I see those signs I think, “There you go, criminals, this is probably a gun free zone”
I’d like to ask this guy if a “legal human” rapped his daughter, would he still hold that value? TO rkd1fc19c5b0160: you seem to prize your, er, intellect above everyone else, yet, you can’t even use English grammar properly. And if the idiotic, moronic signs BLM are not to be taken literaly, why not write them with their entire meaning so no questions need asked, Mr./Mrs. Moron? (While you are pondering these truths, ask these Blacks their secret, considering that “our society doesn’t behave as if they do [matter]”: Oprah, Jesse Jackson, All Sharpton, Kanye West, Michael Jordan, Jay Z, P Diddy, Sheila Johnson, David Steward, Robert F. Smith, Dr Dre, Rihanna, Sean Combs, Tyler Perry, Robert Johnson, Magic Johnson, Tiger Woods, Idris Elba, Morris Chestnut, Mariah Carey, Bill Cosby, Shaquille O’Neal, Will Smith, Cuba Goodwin Jr., Al Johnson, Aretha Franklin, Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Chris Rock, John Amos, Common, Delroy Lindo, Bill Nunn, Orlando Jones, Damon Wayans, Gregory Hines, Clarence Williams III, Forest Whitaker, Morgan Freeman, Will Smith, Laurence Fishburn, Wesley Snipes, Arsenio Hall, Terry Crews, Jeffrey Wright, Ernie Hudson, Ossie Davis, John Witherspoon, James Earl Jones, Keith David, Danny Glover, Ice Cube, Richard Pryor, Samuel Jackson, Cedric the Entertainer, Charles Dutton, Jamie Foxx, Ving Rhames, Martin Lawrence, Shad Moss, Tyrese Gibson, Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis Jr., Chris Tucker, Spike Lee, Boris Kodjoe, Djimon Hounsou, Fred Williamson, Don Cheadle, Louis Gossett Jr., Sidney Poitier, Michael Clarke Duncan, Terrence Howard, Blair Underwood, Ice-T, Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, LeBron James, Bernie Mac, LL Cool J, Kevin Hart, Mario Van Peebles, Tony Todd, Art Evans, Vondie Curtis-Hall, etc, etc, etc.
In our home we believe
AMERICA MATTERS
ARSON & LOOTING ATE WRONG
Born in North America?
You. Are. Incredible. Privileged… er, LUCKY!
SCIENCE IS HARD.
MOST PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND IT.
LOVE IS A VERB.
Putting a sign in your yard
Does NOT make you kind.
Signage with the word “hate” in it detects a person who is filled with that word. It is a noun, it is a verb and the person using it, is usually the noun.
Love this response!
To the Sign Defender: Trying to defend nebulous and nonsensical propaganda as symbolic, leaves productive discourse wanting. When interpretation is left to the imagination what purpose does it serve?
When my wife and I see these signs, we look at each other and say “Trust Snape.”
The Washington Post’s full slogan is actually “Where Democracy Goes to Die in Darkness”…
The homeowner might as well just have added to the sign “This Home Is A Gun Free Zone” too.
Nonetheless … street smart home invaders will look at this particular home with the virtue signaling sign as a target of opportunity.
IN THIS HOME WE KNOW…
Science is a methodology
America is a republic
All lives are mind, spirit and matter
Health care cost money
Illegal immigration is illegal
Water is refreshing
and Wisdom is Very, Very Rare
Regarding “Science is Real”:
Thomas Kuhn pointed out how science periodically becomes “unreal,” being a series of “revolutions,” or “paradigm shifts,” whereby — every time a Copernicus, a Lavoisier, or an Einstein comes along — much of what we “know” about something gets tossed overboard and replaced by new theories and “facts” (Latin for “man-made” constructs).
As for Climate Science and Covid-related science, they have seemed unreal from the start, being sets of rapidly congealing dogmas characteristic of bad religion, with high priests like Dr. Fauci at the altar. I can’t think of a single “fact” concerning Covid-19 that’s had a life of more than three months or so. To “Follow the science” one has to be quite an athlete, analogous to a high schooler forced to wear a mask while running 400 meters.
The scientific method was a singular invention of the evil White Man (one of a multitude). I wonder if the Lefty yard-sign goober realizes that.
Whenever I see the virtue signaling signs in someone’s yard, it is clear they think they are protecting themselves from the hoards. The revolution eventually ears its own……
They spout all those “truisms” even as the the woke fascists come for them.
Yet to see a a Black Lives Matter sign in Jackson, Mississippi, which is 85% black.
Spent 11 days in a middle class suburb of Cambridge (BOS) Mass last week and they were everywhere. One block had 3 on 3 houses. Huge signs. Filled entire windows.
FWIW, in 11 days there saw 1 black.
This follows my reasoning that Black Lives Matter, but almost exclusively to white people. If they mattered to black people, they’d quit killing each other. Jackson has had 48 homicides this year to date. I think almost all, perhaps all, blacks killing blacks.
Thanks for your idea, Mr biggons, paraphrased, “If Black lives really matter, then Blacks would quit killing each other.”
But then, libs/lefties/”progressives”/Democrat robots don’t worry miuch about the Black killings of Blacks in Chicago or Jackson, killings which go on daily, do they?
Heck no, because it does not fit with the cause of their foaming-at-the-mouth inspiration that police kill blacks intentionally.
Democracy died at noon on a bright sunny day, although, no one noticed; as they had bought, hook, line, and sinker the lies and deceptions of the Soviets (yes, Soviets, as Communism did not die, unfortunately.)
“Gentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about Glasnost and Perestroika and democracy in the coming years. They are primarily for outward consumption. There will be no significant internal changes in the Soviet Union, other than for cosmetic purposes. Our purpose is to disarm the Americans and let them fall asleep.” -Mikhail Gorbachev, speech to the Soviet Politburo, November 1987
Spent 11 days in a middle class suburb of Boston recently. Black Lives Matter signs were very visible; one block had 3 huge signs in a row.
Saw one (1) black there in 11 days.
Jackson, Mississippi has no BLM signs I have seen, but is 85% black and has a horrendous murder rate and totally incompetent mayor and city council. So far this year we have 48 homicides, all black so far as I can tell. Jackson is losing population and now hovers just over,150,000.
This proves my idea that while black lives matter, they matter almost exclusively to white people.
If they mattered to black people they wouldn’t be killing each other so much.
Ouch! That’s gonna leave a stain on the yard-sign goober!
Health care is a right unless you have to coerce doctors and nurses to provide their time to perform the necessary acts to provide said healthcare. When that happens then healthcare is a right predicated on slavery. Wrap you mind around that one.
Unless, of course, we can build really caring robots.
Believe me, they’re working on it.
So far, a lot of those “really caring robots” are in the sex industry. “No Non-human is Illegal” either apparently, since “Kindness is Everything.”
Well, “Democracy DOES die in darkness”; these people just lack the self-awareness to realize that it is they who represent the darkness.
Glenn, you are brilliant! We are late in reading your piece, but so what?
Keep up your great efforts!
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