Auchtoon!

Sometimes an editorial cartoon is simply about expressing a feeling. And in this case, it’s exasperation.

There is, of course, lots to be exasperated about these days, so there’s a good chance yours is for a whole different topic. But for me, it’s continually having my political options as a voter framed as a binary choice between a cratering economy and the end of democracy. That’s it. That’s all. One of them has to happen. Or so we’re told (and many believe).

Why? We’re Americans, for crying out loud! If anything, we are conditioned to having too many choices. Go into any sizable grocery store, walk down the cracker aisle, and you will be faced with approximately 287 varieties of Triscuits. Did anybody ask for these? No. Do we really need that many? Probably not. But there they are. We would never limit ourselves with our snacks — why do we do it with our politics?

Living as I do in Michigan (especially West Michigan), I’ve drawn a number of cartoons over the years with and about Betsy DeVos. I don’t remember any of them being particularly complementary. It’s not personal. (I’ve never met her.) But as a political financier/string-puller — and a public official as the Secretary of Education for the Trump Administration — she has given me plenty of opportunities to disagree with her.

She has a book coming out this month, and if you are familiar with DeVos, the title will not surprise you: “Hostages No More: The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child”

This can be read a few different ways. If you believe that the free-market is and always will be the best way to solve any issue, it may feel like a glorious call to arms. If you are dubious about the prospects of letting pure capitalism drive education, it may feel a bit overwrought. And if you are devoted believer in public education, it may feel like the overture to the end of times.

A lot of opportunity for divisiveness there. But apparently the book is not just about education. In it, DeVos reflects on how she was the second member of the Trump Cabinet to resign the day after the Capitol insurrection. She writes:

“To me, there was a line in the sand. It wasn’t about the election results. It was about the values and image of the United States. It was about public service rising above self. The president had lost sight of that.”

Nicely put, Ms. DeVos.

Working in professions like nursing and teaching have become particularly difficult these past few years. (They were not easy gigs before that.) The recent high-profile mass shootings have only taken them to the next level of difficulty. Which is an innocuous way of saying that the way nurses and teachers are currently treated in this country is a national disgrace.

But the big question is (as always): What are we going to do about it?

Well, taking more personal responsibility would certainly help. Nurses and teachers are partners, not miracle workers — we need to do our part, meet them halfway. We can also be better citizens by considering what might benefit the community before defaulting to the most self-serving choice.

And, yes, a component of improving lives (and saving them) is to make changes to existing laws and even establish new ones. Our government was designed to adjust the rules to accommodate a changing world — don’t let the “it’s only constitutional if I agree with it” crowd tell you otherwise.

But it can feel overwhelming. And it’s so easy to become distracted by the Ted Cruzes of the world. Perhaps asking the nurses and teachers what they think would be a good place to start.