The Bill of Rights (a story drawn in strips): Political Cartoons

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INTRODUCTION Political cartoons could be defined as illustrations or cartoon strips that contain a social and/or political message in them. Political cartoons are often based on the current events around when they were written. The Bill of Rights is a formal statement from the United States Constitution that lists the first ten amendments. These amendments define the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens but many of the amendments are still debated about today making them perfect material for political cartoonists. These illustrations are very helpful in raising awareness on flaws in the more controversial amendments. THE FIRST AMENDMENT The cartoon below by depicts a courtroom set-up to debate U.S. gun control laws but the courtroom is empty. This is due to the fact that a member of the NRA has used caution tape to block off the entrance to the courtroom, letting no one enter. I think that the cartoonist is trying to show how although we as U.S. citizens are guaranteed free speech rights, corperations (like the NRA) try to stop people from speaking out and voicing their opinion in fear of impediments like more gun control. This cartoon was probably made in light of the rise in controversies over gun control since the 70s and could also be applied to the second amendment, which we will learn more about on the next page. THE SECOND AMENDMENT The next cartoon I have shows a man defending his actions of shooting another person by saying that he felt threatened. He argues that Florida’s Stand Your Ground law gives him the right to do so and that the victim would also agree but the twist is that the victim is actually dead and would not be able to say otherwise. I think the artist created this illustration to emphasize how ri... ... middle of paper ... ...or political artists. Obviously I did my share of creating a few comics and then explaining the ideas behind them but having said that, the comics I created were all meant for younger kids to be able to understand. Also, they didn’t necessarily show the reader that I had much more intelligence on the topic than most other people. I have learned that to be a political artist a few things you need to have down are: an education in politics, skills in the drawn arts, and a good brain for creating scenarios that involve social and political issues. I don’t think I would ever pursue a career in something like this but to anyone who has done this before and maybe does these things as a hobby I say Bravo. Political cartoons are a great way of getting your message out about an issue you care about are more fun to look at and analyze then reading a long written editorial.

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