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The privacy issue means many different things to many different people. I'm not one to back down on what I believe in saying, but others believe in silencing me. First the setting for the act which brought me to write this.

It takes place in a nice quiet suburb of Chicago. The time was the last Presidential election, President Bush vs Senator Kerry. I was under the belief that my neighborhood was one of understanding, most living here have a minimum of an undergraduate degree. Never let it be said that I am never wrong.

For the first time in my moderately long life, I said yes to a political question over the telephone. The question was; "may we put our candidates name sign on your lawn?" The person running was a Democrat that I supported, and it was for a state office.That day a sign was put up on my lawn. The following day I received a call from the Republican party asking if they could put up a sign for George W. Bush? I had said yes to the Democrats, for a candidate I was supporting. How could I be a hypocrit for the Presidential candidate I supported?

The next afternoon a sign was put up on my front yard also. It was about ten feet from the Democratic sign. I felt like a true moderate with signs for both parties on my lawn. I did realize that the majority of the people in my village were Democrats, but why should that matter? You probably understand where I'm going.

Waking up the next morning, I opened the blinds, something was missing. The Republican sign was ripped out of the ground, and placed on the ground on the side of my house. The Democratic sign was untouched. Could it have been the wind? When a sign is pounded into the ground, a five mile an hour wind won't make it fly away.

Right then I called the Republican party office. I was told that this was happening all over the area. Growing up a strict Democrat, I was shocked this could happen, and in my neighborhood. I wondered if I should have another sign put up. It must have taken me at least three seconds to say; "put it up again! "I put a sign on the Republican sign warning people that a hidden camera was watching the yard. The sign was never touched until it was taken down after the election.

This was my personal privacy crisis, and it will probably happen again. One of these days I'll even buy a camera!

Learn more about this author, Harvey Stelman.
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