Political Cartoons

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American political cartoons often follow the general displeasure of the government by the American people. They run the gamut from economics to foreign policy to the overwhelming popular topic of bureaucracy.
As an avid reader of political cartoons on a daily basis I enjoy the humor and cynicism found within these forms of speech. Not only can they poke fun at politicians for their behavior, but, they often raise a strong sense of values and morals in the person that reads them. Whether a person agrees or disagrees with the way a certain topic is portrayed in the cartoon it accomplishes the artists goal of making their reader stop and ponder for a moment about the topic being covered and how it relates to them. From topics currently facing the United Nations, our federal government or current news events, the cartoonists use a medium that was once reserved for innocent humor and changes it so that it draws the readers attention (since it is a cartoon and people seem to enjoy reading the funnies), and makes a statement, whether direct or indirect, that often makes people speak about or try and change the topics outcome.
Since the beginning of America political cartoons have often portrayed government officials as inept and sometimes just plain stupid. Politicians are very easy targets for the press and so become the subject of many daily papers editorial page cartoon.
Although sometimes the cartoonist draws on current events and pay tribute to people who are often thought of with reverence. Take for example Charles Schultz, on the day following his death most cartoons as well as political cartoons payed homage to a person who is considered the greatest cartoonist of all time. Other cartoon strips showed their characters attending his funeral or missing him in some other way. While the most poignant political cartoon I remember about his death was by a cartoonist Mike Thompson of the Detroit free press. It showed Charlie Brown walking through the gates of heaven with an older man walking beside him and saying to him, “ Now, a few pointers about kicking a football”.

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