July 4th, 2026
There is a busy street that I use frequently to get from Oak Creek to downtown Milwaukee. Traffic has increased significantly over the years, but a half-mile stretch of the street still only has two lanes. Houses are built in close proximity to the road, so there really is not a good way to widen it. The speed limit is set at 25 mph, which feels like a crawl. The local police are relentless about enforcing that speed limit, so I drive slowly and have time to observe my surroundings.
There is one house in particular that I notice every time I drive down that street. It’s an older home with large windows in the front. The owner has placed a number of signs in his window that are in old Gothic script and/or have World War Two Style German eagles on them. The house has a strong Third Reich vibe to it.
The owner also has a portrait of Adolf Hitler proudly displayed in his window. There is a nearly transparent red swastika superimposed on the Fuhrer’s picture. It’s hard for a person to be more blatant than that. It’s totally in your face.
Every time I drive past that house, I say to myself, “Really?”
The house answers, “Yes, really. Deal with it.”
I find the owner’s decor to be deeply offensive, but we live in America, and the 1st Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, even disgusting speech. Are there limits to free speech? Yes, but very few. The homeowner is not inciting violence, or at least it can’t be proven that he is. He is exercising his right to state his opinion.
I don’t know how many other people going past that house even notice the Hitler portrait. I suspect that most drivers are oblivious to that house and the image in the window. That might be the best way of dealing with the guy. Just ignore it and move on.
I don’t know. It seems like there was a time in the United States when it was considered extremely bad taste to openly display Nazi propaganda. What changed over the years? Our values? Our sense of community? Our country?
Happy 4th of July.
Frank is Emptiness 