Government Politics

I decided to blog about a political cartoon for once rather than movies, fascism, and architecture.  I chose this image because to me it represents the 'democracy' that is upheld in America.  Politics isn't a strong point of mine nor is it something that I follow regularly.  That being said, I chose this image because it is neutral to both parties but represents the 'democracy' as a whole.  Analyzing the image I of course see that both parties are represented as their mascots, but there seems to be a hierarchy between the two.  I know that an elephant is a much larger creature than a donkey, but this one seems to be very assertive and strong compared to the skinny donkey.  I'm guessing that is a subtle representation on the strength and assertiveness of the Republican party vs the passive nature that is stereotyped on Democrats.  From what I've experienced people seem to think Democrats are pacifists of sorts, tree huggers, and who don't voice themselves as well or as strongly as the Republicans.  Another part of this image that hints at that could be the tone of their speech, or their captions.  The democrat again could be represented as passive as he says "Step aside."  The republican on the other hand states "My way or the highway."  It appears that the democrat doesn't want confrontation but to get by while the republican voices that he is the one that needs to be in control.  There is also the image in the background that shows Egypt and Tunisia standing with Uncle Sam.  Uncle Sam is depicted as confident and as if he is being compassionate in a sense.  The Egyptian and the Tunisian look very scared at the idea of 'democracy.'  So Uncle Sam wraps his arms around them, gets down on their level, and is probably assuring them that it's all going to be okay.  It reminds me of a child who is about to be adopted and just meeting their new parents.  The look of fear of these strangers who are going to be the nurturers of the rest his/her life.  Uncle Sam is the one who put it all in motion and let them meet.  That's me going on off on a tangent, but the similarities are perfect.  Uncle Sam introduces this country to the idea of a ruling 'democracy' that he assures them will work out fine but in all actuality it is an unknown style of politics that they do not understand.  This is their first glimpse of how it actually works which isn't a very good first impression.  Also, you can't forget the caption.  "Want to learn about the Wonders of Democracy? Here's a crash course."  Obviously it hints at the idea that the two are about to crash into one another or bump heads.  I also get a sense of sarcasm in the wording.  Also, Wonders is capitalizes which makes me think that the caption is expressing that the Republican and Democratic party are somewhat of a spectacle.  They are giants that are interesting to watch and view but not be a part of.  I think the cartoon is pretty simple and to the point but uses a lot of interesting and subtle hints to represent more than you would catch at first glimpse. A job well done to the cartoonist.

Till next time.