FREE ESSAY ON POLITICAL CRISIS

POLITICAL CRISIS

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". The person walking with Charlie Brown was Tom Landry.
Political cartoons stay on the pulse of current affairs and in doing so tries to draw the
attention of their audience to the topic and nudges them to take some kind of action. So
if you want to know about how a segment of America feels, turn to their editorials and
read the political cartoon.