NORTHAMPTON — There are a lot of signs in one Florence home’s lawn.
In addition to American flags lining the fence is a sign thanking health care workers. A “Feel the Bern: Bernie 2020” sign is next to a “Trump Pence Keep America Great!” sign. And nearby is a “Biden President 2020” sign.
It’s easy to picture heated arguments over politics and hurt feelings among the people who live there, but that’s not the case, the family says.
When someone walking by asked about the signs, “I just said it’s a big family,” said Tricia Carey, who was born and raised in Northampton and now lives with her husband and two sons, 21 and 14. Her parents live in the house’s in-law apartment.
“We just have very different opinions,” Cyrus Carey, 21, said while standing on his front porch Monday. “In this house, having your own opinion … that’s really the big thing here.”
“There are three generations living here,” Tricia said. “I think what you’re seeing on our lawn is representative of the diverse opinions and perspectives of the different family members that live here.” With three generations of the family at home, “there’s a different news network playing on every TV,” she said.
Trump signs went up first, Tricia said. “Then, other members of the household were like, ‘You know what? We really need to just be we need to all be represented.’” So, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden signs were staked into the lawn, too. She declined to say who put up which signs.
A Trump flag used to fly on a flagpole in the lawn, but it was vandalized and “cut into a million pieces,” she said.
Politics come up “almost daily” at home, Tricia said. “Oh, so dinnertime is fascinating,” she said. “Yes, there are always conversations. We have fascinating debates — we have great conversations. We don’t get angry with each other.” She later added, “from border security to police brutality, we talk about everything.”
They disagree, but “we can all still get along,” Cyrus said. “We can still be a family.”
Many groups of people with different political opinions don’t get along, Tricia said. “We see people on social media who invite friends to unfriend them if they support the president. Families are being broken apart. We know we are unique in that way.”
So how can families with political divides talk politics and get along?
“I don’t want to sound like I have all the answers — I certainly don’t,” Tricia said. “It sounds so cheesy, but one of the flags out there says love always wins. I feel like our love for each other and respect for each other are more important than politics happening.”
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.