In times of transition, change, and turmoil, I go to lighthouses.
Specifically, Owl’s Head Lighthouse, which is not far from where I live. I love running up those steps and soaking up the sun with views of North Haven, Vinalhaven, the blue mountains of Camden and beyond. There’s a reason why it’s a popular summer tourist attraction. This view gives visitors a moment to reacquaint themselves with the sense of infinity of a country that grows closer and closer to itself every day. It’s a rare feeling.
Knox County was no different from other areas in the lead-up to the election. In many ways, it’s a microcosm of America. Competing signs were crowded back to back. It was all part of the scenery until the morning after the election was announced and I noticed someone had put a “Trump: Keep America Great” sticker on a prime spot in Owls Headlight State Park. It was.
Courtesy of Mary McGrail
Political stickers don’t belong there.
State parks are neutral areas and are intended to welcome all. I tried to remove it, but it was not easy to remove. As I struggled, I began to feel threatened by the looks of passing cars. When I got home, I brought back a Goo Gone and a garden scraper to remove the sticker without damaging the sign.
There was something satisfying about watching the sticker fold up and its blue sheen fade under the remover. Still, I didn’t move. The glue stuck almost permanently. I don’t have much experience with bumper stickers, but this one in particular felt almost suspiciously stubborn.
There’s something contradictory about the choice to put a Trump sticker on a lighthouse sign.
In literature, lighthouses are associated with hope. They are beacons. Lighthouses were built to allow ships to move forward safely, not to turn around and return to dangerous waters or dangerous conditions they had already passed through.
The morning after Trump won, I saw a man pull his car off the road and casually grab a Harris Waltz sign from the ground. My quest could have been just as simple. Aren’t we exercising our rights against each other? But why does fighting back in this way feel like such a sinful act? Are you doing it?
There is irony in the current state of this state, this country, and the world, but by writing an op-ed about my attempted removal, you can get more than 50 Trump stickers on Owls Headlight State Park signs by tomorrow morning. That means it might be pasted.
It’s not about going back and forth, it’s about keeping the patient looking to the future. It is worth noting that Vice President Kamala Harris, in her concession speech, said that although she had conceded in the election, she would not concede in the fight. It’s a long race. Just like that, in four years and counting, Owl’s Head Lighthouse, with its prime location on the coast, will be one of the first places in America to welcome a new day again.
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