Auchtoon!

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
February 24, 2013

This is one of those cartoons where I thought my point was very clear. (Which is, just as a parent leaving a family generally makes life more difficult, manufacturing leaving Detroit made life as a whole there much more difficult.) But after drawing it and seeing it in print, I realized two things. First, I could have executed the concept more effectively. It is visually …blah. (That kinda bummed me out.) And second, that it could be interpreted many different ways — depending on cultural, political, or religious viewpoint. (That made me happier because when readers bring their own baggage, there’s a much better chance of sparking a reaction or thought.)

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
February 17, 2013

So two weeks ago — the day I posted my cartoon about certain gun devotees going off the deep end with their paranoid mistrust of their democratically elected government — the leak about the White House seeking legal justification for assassinating US citizens with drones appeared in the news. Um, thanks guys. Thanks a whole lot. Reallllly helped my case….

But despite the sinister notion that President Obama may or may not be aiming a rocket at your head right now, I still maintain that it is not sensible to stockpile military-grade weapons as defense against a government that remains (as Lincoln so eloquently put it) “of the people by the people for the people.” And yet, I could not resist the opportunity to poke fun at my idealism with this week’s cartoon.

The corruption trial of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick wrapped up last week, and the jury is set to deliberate sentencing this week. From all evidence, Kilpatrick is a horrible person who lied and stole and stole and stole some more. All the while driving an already hurting community straight into the ground. But you can’t dismiss government as a whole because of Kilpatrick any more than you can dismiss capitalism as a whole because of Bernie Madoff (or football as a whole because of the Detroit Lions).

Now I’m just praying that later today the jury doesn’t find Kilpatrick innocent on all charges. That would really test my idealism….

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
February 10, 2013

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
February 3, 2013

Two specific inspirations for this week’s cartoon. The first was a bill that popped up in the Michigan Senate, Senate Bill 63, which would make “firearms, ammunition or accessories that are manufactured and sold in Michigan not be subject to federal regulations.” It is difficult to imagine a more cynical piece of legislation — attempting to defend Second Amendment rights by openly declaring our state as not subject to constitutional law. Hmmm…  The second was a Facebook posting that turned into a gun debate in the comments. Typically, I don’t subject myself to these. But I was taken with two guys in the thread — one who kept trying to bring the debate to a thoughtful discussion and another who was stunning in his volume of words and apparent depth of conviction. The stunning guy was arguing for guns, guns, and more guns and I found myself thinking, “Is it possible for somebody to be this ideologically passionate?” And then it occurred to me — yes, he’s full of fear. Or more specifically, fear bordering on paranoia.

Fear can drive us to do and say unreasonable things. And I don’t judge because we all have fear. But I think we would be all better off as a matter of public policy if we at some point acknowledge the fear but don’t let it drive us.