Where are the bumper stickers?

Something strange is going on in Ohio. There don't seem to be any bumper stickers. I drive almost 100 miles a day on a major four-lane highway in northern Ohio. In the last two weeks, I saw one Trump bumper sticker in the parking lot of a grocery store, one Trump window-cling on a pickup truck on the highway, and one "I heart Hillary" bumper sticker at a rest stop. That's it.

Four years ago, in August 2012, Romney and Obama bumper stickers were plentiful. It's a similar story with yard signs. A handful of Trump signs sprouted up during the primary – rarely more than one or two per small town, and often none at all. I have yet to see a Hillary sign. Last week, as the media piled on Trump following the Democrat convention, I'd had enough, and I pasted a "Trump, Make America Great Again" and a "Never Hillary" bumper sticker (from the Rush Limbaugh website) on my 2002 SUV. Maybe I was also inspired by a classic rock station that reminded this elderly boomer of how it felt to be "Born to Be Wild." My 18-year-old self would have been contemptuous of giving in to fear. I hadn't really been worried about getting my car vandalized, but I was worried about social ostracism by the Democrats in my neighborhood. So far, I haven't had any trouble – though my bumper stickers are so rare that I'm getting honks, waves, and thumbs-up on the highway. On the Hillary side, I imagine that the unions will loose a wave of signage any minute, as they usually do in elections here. I don't know why it hasn't happened yet. (Have Bill and Hill embezzled the funds?) On the Trump side, bumper stickers are not being given away, but must be purchased from the www.donaldjtrump.com website. Maybe this will turn out to be a mistake. Ohioans are a cautious crew, apt to avoid confrontation. Like many Americans, they may be overly humble, and willing to accept the political judgment of their perceived betters in the media and in government office. A wave of bumper stickers could make it safe to talk about and vote for Trump. "For want of a nail a kingdom was lost." How sad if our country is lost for want of some bumper stickers.