Bad Democrat

Some cities across the country have lower-to-the-ground billboards on their highways. They often advertise local businesses and give a cozy feel to the road around it. People who talk about urban sprawl and community beautification projects seem to miss the memo that these things are great and not terrible. In fact, the entire unrelatability complex of community beautification advocacy seems to be related to advocates’ inability and unwillingness to acknowledge that things like this are nice. In Louisville they have giant granite rocks behind them with vines growing out of it and again they’re advertising like the local Italian restaurant. Maybe advocates are scared that if they vocalize appreciation for things like this, it’s the gateway to conceding that urban sprawl is fine. It’s not conceding that urban sprawl is fine, it’s appreciating something that isn’t a co-op.

Cross the border into Indiana and the billboards are higher than you’ve ever seen, and they’re lit up so they’re brighter. I like this too because it seems to scream “Indiana” and again you just crossed over into the state so it’s like a ‘welcome into Indiana, we’re an extremely high, light-up billboards on the highway type of place’. I’m not going to say advocates should appreciate these but–well why can’t they?

Very high Jesus billboards with wide fields behind them is another look I like. The height, the ‘Jesus’ part, the starkness of the wide field in the afternoon, combine to make you feel something sort of unique and expansive. I wonder about the people who pass those billboards every day.

Maybe I should let community beautification advocates do their thing, but I think my way is better. Things like this make me feel affection for a place and I don’t think I’m alone.