Battle lines were drawn immediately in my suburban neighborhood during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. My neighbors proudly displayed their political yard signs and defied anyone to disagree with their alliances. Truly annoying people added cheap cardboard rants to inform and bully non-believers into drinking their Kool-Aid.

You knew who your enemies were, (for at least six months, anyway) and you appreciated your allies as you zig-zagged down the street making loyalty checks and sizing up the state of the campaign.

When my young daughter expressed interest in damaging, capturing, or knocking down one of my neighbor’s signs I turned a blind eye. (Bad Mommy. And no, she didn’t vandalize.) My daughter’s in college now and Berned out of the election. Her candidate didn’t make it into the general. He was robbed, so she’s done.

Today you don’t see any signs in my sub-division. Not one. I’m sure this will change as we slide into the final stretch of this tedious but enthralling train wreck. It’s a shame, (shame being the operative word) that my neighbors, and the electorate in general, aren’t proud enough to display their allegiances. The ones who do are either judged and juried immediately, or forced to run and take cover in their homes after making a trip to the grocery store.

I wonder if my neighborly situation will improve in the next few weeks and the American spirit will prevail. I wonder if my neighbors will proudly plant their yard signs based on conviction and faith in their candidate—not just on mutual hatred for the other one. I haven’t put my sign out yet. And that’s not a good sign.