Auchtoon!

Until recently, I really thought that certain things were settled law. Like, child labor — it’s bad. Nazis are bad, no exceptions. War in general is bad, but a land war in Europe is an especially terrible idea. I mean, I wasn’t exactly paying attention to every lesson growing up, but I thought we all agreed on that.

Apparently not. Because this week, the New York Times broke a story that included a company in West Michigan actively employing migrant children in highly dangerous jobs. Dilbert cartoonist, Scott Adams, and his toxic views on race relations finally became widely known. His cartooning career appears to have tanked, but that’s okay — he’s already rich and he’s got Elon Musk on his side.

And of course it was the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, which is a highly complicated situation. Except for the very simple truth that if the one person who started it (Putin) wanted it to end, he could end it. (I do realize that “end it” could mean negotiated peace or nuclear holocaust. Let’s be optimists and go with the former.)

The mistakes are all right there on display in the previous century. It’s disappointing we don’t seem to notice.

In Michigan, certain basic rights are codified by the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1976. It specifically prohibits, “discriminatory practices, policies, and customs in the exercise of those rights based upon religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status.”

Of course it took awhile to evolve for such a law to be created. Now, nearly 50 years later, our society has evolved further to consider additional rights — specifically, whether Elliot-Larsen includes protection from discrimination for LGBTQ Michiganders.

This has already worked its way through the judiciary, and last summer a 5-2 majority of the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the law does include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. However, State Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) is sponsoring a bill to make that actual law. It is now on the calendar for a formal vote.

Previous efforts never made it out of Republican-controlled legislatures, often with the excuse that “it was not the right time and the issue was too divisive.” The cartoon is just a gentle reminder of how well that excuse holds up to history.

I just couldn’t figure out a way to properly express my deep, deep sadness with the mass shooting on the Michigan State University campus this week. It’s simply too much to distill. Also, honestly, it was yet another mass shooting in the USA — we’ve gotten to the point where we reflexively rank these things. (Only three dead? Not so bad.)

We. Are. Broken. If you don’t think so, then you should know that, as I write this, there have already been five more mass shooting since Monday. Statistically, there will be at least a couple more before you read this. I just didn’t feel like drawing a tearful Sparty was going to help anybody.

Instead, I wanted to alert you to the fact that gun violence (of which mass shootings are only a small part) is now the number one cause of death for those 19-years-old and younger in the United States. And even though only one of the three beautiful young people who died Monday was technically in that category, close enough. Too frickin’ close.

We. Are. Broken.

This is a bit of a strange thing for me to write, but I hope you don’t read too much politics into today’s cartoon. My intention was to go a little lighter — poke fun at this cold, miserable, arthritic, melt-off so everything is gray and brown February weather. Even in more typical winter conditions, it is our Michigander instinct to look for a way out and typically that translates into a trip to Florida. It’s especially intense now because we don’t even have the snow to cover the ugly.

It wasn’t until I was putting the finishing touches on the cartoon that I thought about all the political minutia associated with Florida these days: DeSantis, Trump, banned books, don’t say gay, culture wars, and so on. (Then of course there is also the everyday “Florida man” insanity that makes Florida Florida.)

There is lots to say about all that. And, please, go ahead and think those thoughts if you wish. But as far as this cartoon goes, my thought stopped with, “nice place to visit.” (Still, I’m glad I don’t live there.)

The genesis of this cartoon was actually a James Baldwin quote I had come across earlier this week:

“If any white man in the world says give me liberty or give me death, the entire white world applauds. When a black man says exactly the same thing — word for word — he is judged a criminal and treated like one.”

That’s just how brilliant Baldwin was: He was able to create a complete editorial cartoon without having to draw anything.

There was no improving on that, so instead I tried to frame an observation about race and race relations in America from my experience. It worries me when people put iconic civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, and Rosa Parks in the “safe” category.

The fact is, they were very smart, keenly observant human beings. And because of that, they were often quite bold and sometimes even angry. They were radicals. Not acknowledging that diminishes their full legacy.

The guest on a recent Smartless podcast was Bono, activist, philanthropist, and singer-songwriter for the band U2. During the interview, he was asked for his take on the general state of affairs in America — particularly from his perspective as an Irishman who has worked in and written a lot about America.

Disclaimer: Bono is one of those overfed and overpaid rock stars. You can go ahead and dismiss him on those grounds, but he is also self-aware and self-effacing about it. It’s worth listening to the podcast.

Here’s what Bono said, “America is the greatest idea the world has ever had, but it doesn’t exist yet.”

He wasn’t talking specifically about gun violence, but I couldn’t help but to make the connection myself. Among the declared goals of these United States of America is famously to the inherent and inalienable right to “the preservation of life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Too often gun violence limits (and with horrible frequency, extinguishes) all three of those rights.

For victims of gun violence, America is a great idea that is not being realized. This, of course, is nothing new. But that shouldn’t prevent us from working toward bringing the idea of America to life for everyone.

Okay, I’ll admit it. Whenever I see a story about the southwestern United States and their crisis with insufficient water, I can feel smug, maybe even a bit superior. As I write this, a significant rain is lashing at my window in my Michigan home. (I mean, it’s January, and it should be snow, but that’s for another environmental topic.)

So not having enough water is not a concern. Our skies are typically filled with clouds laden with precipitation, our sump pumps often strain to keep rising water tables in check, our many lakes surround us creating pleasant peninsulas. But that doesn’t mean that we Michiganders don’t have water concerns.

For us, our primary challenge is not the lack of water but properly taking care of all that we have.

PFAS contamination, for example, is a vexing problem. Two stories this past week reminded us all of this: The delay in the cleanup of a former industrial site near Grand Rapids, and new warnings to limit consumption of certain fish from some of our larger lakes.

With so much water, water everywhere (and lots and lots to drink), it’s a little too easy to look down on the fools who insist on building new homes in deserts. Let us not be similar fools in how we manage and protect our water.

We’re all human. And that’s the essential problem with democracy. It’d work a lot better if people weren’t involved. But you really can’t have a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” without, you know, people.

Our particular form of democracy, this constitutional republic, was designed to take into account the people problem by including separation of powers, checks and balances, and lots and lots of rules. It’s all designed as a safeguard against our worst impulses, which is to get into power and then do whatever we want.

Currently, the system is again being actively tested as newly elected officials begin their terms — from the U.S. Congress to county boards. Again, we’re all human, so it’s important to recognize that there will inevitably be overreach.

But then there are instances that go far beyond overreach and absolutely bury the needle on the ol’ hypocrisy meter. In Ottawa County, the newly elected majority to the board of commissioners started the year at a full ideological sprint. You can read the details here, but the takeaway for me was that a group of individuals who got themselves elected by professing their love for laws, transparency, and democracy, made an immediate mark by trampling over all three.

As the song goes, it seems everybody wants to rule the world:

Usually my goal as an editorial cartoonist is to create work with broad audience appeal. But every once in a while, there is a compelling reason to go after a niche. In this case, Michigan sports fans. Or more specifically, University of Michigan football fans who watched the Fiesta Bowl last Saturday.

It was an absurdly entertaining game. So much effort! So many mistakes! Exasperating swings in momentum and emotions. Why, it’s almost as if it had been played by a bunch of 20-year-olds!

Adding to the absurdity was the, shall we say, unsatisfactory quality of the officiating. None more critical than the no-call near the end of the game on a targeting penalty, followed by an extended review of the very definition of a targeting penalty, followed by the baffling conclusion that there was no targeting penalty.

It was frustrating for Michigan fans, to be sure, because it would have given the Wolverines one last desperate chance to win. But I think, more importantly, it was frustrating to anybody who cares about the health and well-being of those playing the game. Targeting rules have been developed to limit head and spine injuries, both during games and in the long term. When one player lowers his helmet to attack the head and neck of another player, the penalty needs to be called. Always.

Football is a violent game. That has been more than made clear with the bigger football story this past week, the on-field cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Injuries will always be part of football. But they can be reduced by enforcing the rules.

Hoping to share in a more transparent and ethical Michigan with you all in 2023!