The Politics of Ignorance
Britany Price
Your vote or non-vote may help pigs fly. In other words your election of government officials shapes everyone’s future, both long and short term. Do we as Americans know enough about politics to make educated decisions? Well, do pigs fly?
Here is a quick test. Did you understand the single panel above? If so, pat yourself on the back. Do you think most Americans would understand the cartoon above? Probably (and by probably I mean not at all) the overall message, but not the in depth analysis as to why it is truly funny.
The after effects of 9-11 created a climate of fear in the United States directed against those who knew about the problems the nation faced who seemingly did nothing to stop them. One government tactic to help the nations people feel better about getting to the bottom of the problem was interviewing government officials. A 9-11 Committee was formed in an attempt to help find ways to meet the nation’s need to learn everything they could about the attacks on September 11th. Since the government was taking action, political cartoonists like John Pritchett thought they should too. Pritchett draws cartoons in an attempt to help define what constitutes legitimate government, and to remind Americans what they voted for. He does so in a way that pokes fun at the government. In doing so he helps Americans realize that we do not know enough about politics and sometimes we may need things explained.
So let’s get to it. Why is this strip funny? Based on the events that occurred, Rice blatantly called our government inadequate. According to The White House official website, Condi herself thought the 9-11 Commission was very necessary:
‘We owe it to those we lost, and to their loved ones, and
to our country, to learn all we can about that tragic day, and the
events that led to it. Many families of the victims are here today,
and I thank them for their contributions to the Commission's work.’
The truth of the situation is that we were suddenly not threatened as a nation by terrorists on September 11th, 2001. Before the attacks terrorists declared war on America. As Rice had said in an excerpt from The White House website transcript; radical, freedom-hating terrorists had already begun attacks before September 11th,
‘The attack on the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983, the
hijacking of the Achille Lauro in 1985, the rise of al-Qaida
and the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, the
attacks on American installations in Saudi Arabia in 1995
and 1996, the East Africa embassy bombings of 1998, the
attack on the USS Cole in 2000, these and other atrocities
were part of a sustained, systematic campaign to spread
devastation and chaos and to murder innocent
Americans,’ said Rice.
In other words, the terrorists were at war with us but we had no idea. So basically Condi is saying that for about twenty years the terrorist population of the world had ganged up on us, and our government did nothing about it. Her direct words on the official White House Website were “America's response across several administrations of both parties was insufficient.” She certainly fell for that hook line and sinker. There was seemingly no attempt that would even closely resemble a fight for government officials and what the administration was doing to protect us from terrorists.
Our downward spiraling government and their ability to be consistently inconsistent make political cartoonists like John Pritchett a wealthy man. For Pritchett it’s like taking candy from a baby, but it was a slow progression. According to his website Pritchett Cartoons, he is originally from Florida and moved to Honolulu. There he worked as an advertising artist until he decided to pursue cartooning. In 1988, Pritchett was a student of “world-renowned cartoonist and caricaturist, Ranan Lurie, in New York.” Until he took a job with Honolulu Weekly where he has published a weekly cartoon. According to the Pritchett Cartoons website, during this time Pritchett has been honored with awards from: The United Nations Correspondents Association, Hawaii Publishers Association, The Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Common Cause Hawaii, and Small Business Hawaii just to name a few.
According to the Pritchett Cartoons website, in 1995, Pritchett began publishing a weekly cartoon on economic issues, which appeared in Pacific Business News as "Pritchett's Two Cents." On Maui, his cartoons are published weekly in Lahaina News and he draws illustrations and cartoons on environmental issues for Environment Hawaii. Pritchett has published a few books on local politics including "Drawn & Quartered" and "The Unbelievable Empire," and "Jeremy's World Comics." He provides cartoons, caricatures and illustrations to national and international newspapers, magazines and Web sites.
Pritchett is pushing the envelope to political knowledge because people are more apt to read cartoons than they are to watch the news or read newspaper articles. Although it is sad to say, most citizens know quite little to nothing about politics and policy. What irks me the most is that most Americans don’t even have basic background knowledge about government structure, and political parties. Quick test: Do you know the name of your congressman? What is the difference between what conservatives believe and what liberals believe? The problem that arises is not that there is no truth in our government but that not enough citizens look for it; this is the politics of ignorance.
Works Cited
“Condi and the 9/11 Commission.” Time.com. 2006. 7 Nov. 2006.
< http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,565974,00.html>
Kitfield, James “GIVE 'EM HELL, GEORGE?” Texan Abroad. 15 Jan.
2005, Vol. 37 Issue 3, p108-110, 3p, 1 map, 3bw
“Prichett Cartoons.” Cartoon Archives. 2006. 7 Nov. 2006.
< www.pritchettcartoons.com/>
Starobin, Paul. “Plato Anyone?” National Journal. 2 Mar. 2005, Vol. 37 Issue 14, p962-
968, 7p, 8bw
“Dr. Condoleezza Rice's Opening Remarks to Commission on Terrorist Attacks”
The White House Official Site. 2004. 7 Nov. 2006. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040408.html>
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