Best Political Cartoons

[Ultimate Paragon]

[Barbarella]

I realized something. Was this cartoon telling me the opposite of what I interpreted? That Canada's going the way of the USA?

Well, I've read more and I seems to be.

But I had an epiphany.....folks hear me out.

But of the success of the Far-Right has been casting Progressives as out-of-touch & elitist. We are seen as rich city-folk or hippies or nerdy college professors and not as average, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth, Joe Q. American/Canadian, the farmers, laborers, etc.

We as Progressives need to wrap ourselves in the flags, embrace the patriotic symbols and acknowledge, honor, respect & truly reflect "The Common Person". We need to be relatable to "Blue Collar Farmer Brown".

You see, it's not just bigotry that causes people to vote stupidly, it's the whole fear of the "Out-of-touch Liberal Elitist". For effective change, you need to be relatable to the masses.

We need to be relatable to the masses....reach out to them....try to understand them....not dismiss them as morons & rejects from Deliverance. Many GOPers, NeoCon voters, Bible-butts & Teabaggers are really just otherwise decent regular Americans who perhaps are a bit misguided. To dismiss them all as idiots and make fun of them is stupid. Yes, there are psychotic hardliners but there are also hard-working farmers & other laborers and dear old Grannies. It's just that being old-fashioned & undereducated kind of made them Teabag material.

If we can befriend & reach out to them, find some sort of understanding, we can unite America, Left & Right, and put the Far-Right out to pasture. Same for Canada.

As for me, I will stay here in this glorious land of E PLURIBUS UNUM and fight to take it back!

I know that the Machine has far more money than the Progs but we Progs can find a way to make more with less. Money means nothing! We will be to politics like The Blair Witch Project was to 1990's horror cinema. We may see the film as dorky & cliche, now but back then, it was groundbreaking & genuinely chilling....and it was just a cheap indie flick made with a camcorder & a budget reported between the $20,000-$700,000 range. They didn't need big bucks to make a terrifying horror blockbuster.

We are the Progressives....we can improvise, innovate & make do with less. We have the Internet & Internet radio. We are the innovators and thinkers outside of boxes. We are the compassionate and we need to turn our compassion to even those on the other side of the fence. We need to limit our barbs to the LEADERS of the Far-Right but we must be welcoming, understanding & compassionate towards their followers.

We need to be for The Common Person.....because we are.

[Sigmaleph]

I realized something. Was this cartoon telling me the opposite of what I interpreted? That Canada's going the way of the USA?

Well, I've read more and I seems to be.

But I had an epiphany.....folks hear me out.

But of the success of the Far-Right has been casting Progressives as out-of-touch & elitist. We are seen as rich city-folk or hippies or nerdy college professors and not as average, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth, Joe Q. American/Canadian, the farmers, laborers, etc.

I'm not saying you don't have a point, but what do you do if the nerdy college professors feel like they are being slighted in favour of the farmers and laborers?

The conflict between expanding your base and keeping your core demographics is an essential balance in every political movement. Farmers and college professors often want different things (more money for agricultural subsidies vs more money for science funding, to give a simplistic example) and sometimes your policy has to reflect that. If the progressives can expand their base towards new demographics, what's stopping the conservatives from doing the same, capturing some of the demographics that get less pandering?

[Barbarella]

I realized something. Was this cartoon telling me the opposite of what I interpreted? That Canada's going the way of the USA?

Well, I've read more and I seems to be.

But I had an epiphany.....folks hear me out.

But of the success of the Far-Right has been casting Progressives as out-of-touch & elitist. We are seen as rich city-folk or hippies or nerdy college professors and not as average, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth, Joe Q. American/Canadian, the farmers, laborers, etc.

I'm not saying you don't have a point, but what do you do if the nerdy college professors feel like they are being slighted in favour of the farmers and laborers?

The conflict between expanding your base and keeping your core demographics is an essential balance in every political movement. Farmers and college professors often want different things (more money for agricultural subsidies vs more money for science funding, to give a simplistic example) and sometimes your policy has to reflect that. If the progressives can expand their base towards new demographics, what's stopping the conservatives from doing the same, capturing some of the demographics that get less pandering?

Well, if we start first and they see how freeing, loving and beneficial Progressivism is, they may prefer Progressivism over Wingnuttery.

[Sigmaleph]

Well, if we start first and they see how freeing, loving and beneficial Progressivism is, they may prefer Progressivism over Wingnuttery.

Empirically, this is not a very good bet. We've had a discussion before about progressives becoming conservatives and vice-versa; we know that people can change sides and there is no "Progressivisim is awesome!" effect keeping people in one position. The why of it is an interesting question*, but the empirical reality is not in doubt.

Again, not saying progressives shouldn't expand their base. Just saying there are practical issues that should be kept in mind.


*Without assuming which political position is right, mind you. The paradox applies equally to a progressive or a conservative who thinks their position is obviously right.

[Sylvana]

Well, if we start first and they see how freeing, loving and beneficial Progressivism is, they may prefer Progressivism over Wingnuttery.

Empirically, this is not a very good bet. We've had a discussion before about progressives becoming conservatives and vice-versa; we know that people can change sides and there is no "Progressivisim is awesome!" effect keeping people in one position. The why of it is an interesting question*, but the empirical reality is not in doubt.

Again, not saying progressives shouldn't expand their base. Just saying there are practical issues that should be kept in mind.


*Without assuming which political position is right, mind you. The paradox applies equally to a progressive or a conservative who thinks their position is obviously right.

Part of the problem progressives have, is that their base is extremely diverse, and keeping all those parties happy is borderline impossible without some kind of magical intervention. However conservatives, by nature seek only to maintain the status quotient so their base is unfortunately very stable. Add to that how today's progressives age and become tomorrows conservatives, who then have kids who become tomorrows progressives.

[Nemo]

Well, if we start first and they see how freeing, loving and beneficial Progressivism is, they may prefer Progressivism over Wingnuttery.

Empirically, this is not a very good bet. We've had a discussion before about progressives becoming conservatives and vice-versa; we know that people can change sides and there is no "Progressivisim is awesome!" effect keeping people in one position. The why of it is an interesting question*, but the empirical reality is not in doubt.

Again, not saying progressives shouldn't expand their base. Just saying there are practical issues that should be kept in mind.


*Without assuming which political position is right, mind you. The paradox applies equally to a progressive or a conservative who thinks their position is obviously right.

Part of the problem progressives have, is that their base is extremely diverse, and keeping all those parties happy is borderline impossible without some kind of magical intervention. However conservatives, by nature seek only to maintain the status quotient so their base is unfortunately very stable. Add to that how today's progressives age and become tomorrows conservatives, who then have kids who become tomorrows progressives.

While it is true that people tend to become more conservative as they get older, I also feel it should be noted that social progress isn't always zero sum. My metaphor is that progress takes ten steps forward, then the backlash takes it nine steps back. Slowly, but surely, the world is getting better. Look at how society views race. While I will agree that racism still exists, particularly in the law enforcement and criminal "justice" systems, at the same time, non whites have more opportunities than ever before. Almost nobody wants to go back to segregation, and those who do are considered fringe even within the Tea Party. I suspect that gay rights will be the same in a few years. We've already seen that in areas where they become accepted, it's almost unheard of for the issue to be turned back.

[Barbarella]

Concerning voting, I found this glimmer of hope! It may be concerning North Carolina (one state profiled here) but it's hope:

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/10/27/early-voting-nc-democrats-crushing-gop-despite-vote-rigging-video/

There's a bunch of states with early voting & I'd imagine that it's the same there as it is in NC.

[Ultimate Paragon]

[Cloud3514]

More like military propaganda.

[Ultimate Paragon]

More like military propaganda.

I can't believe you said that about a cartoon paying tribute to the tragic death of a Canadian Serviceman.  That's just not kosher.

[Cloud3514]

And where in the cartoon does it indicate that? It's just another cartoon that treats soldiers as heroes just because they're soldiers.

[Ultimate Paragon]

And where in the cartoon does it indicate that? It's just another cartoon that treats soldiers as heroes just because they're soldiers.

The fact that they specified "Canadian" should be a hint.  It's okay to disagree with me on how much servicemen deserve to be called heroes, but insulting this guy's memory crosses a line.

[Cloud3514]

So Canadians aren't capable of nationalism? I mean, I admit that I could be wrong. I have no idea who drew that one and could be a tribute, if a shitty one that focuses on the "soldiers are heroes" narrative over the tragedy of the guy's death, but if the artist is Canadian, then it comes off entirely as typical right-wing military glorification.

[dpareja]

So Canadians aren't capable of nationalism? I mean, I admit that I could be wrong. I have no idea who drew that one and could be a tribute, if a shitty one that focuses on the "soldiers are heroes" narrative over the tragedy of the guy's death, but if the artist is Canadian, then it comes off entirely as typical right-wing military glorification.

Here's his site, I'll let you judge for yourself:

http://neasecartoons.com/

(And he does live in Oakville.)