At a time when so much seems to be wrong with our country and its political system, it is, perhaps, comforting to know that the nation has struggled with many of the same problems before — and survived.
The Dole Institute of Politics at Kansas University currently is playing host to a notable exhibit produced by the Herb Block Foundation. The foundation was created by the estate of the famed Washington Post editorial cartoonist, better known as Herblock. The touring exhibition is a retrospective of the cartoonist’s work, which stretched across eight decades and 13 U.S. presidencies. In some cases, the cartoons continue to be so relevant that they could run on an editorial page today without a single revision. In other cases, only the face of the president portrayed in the artist’s frame would need to be changed.
In a 1950 cartoon, a couple of hefty men labeled as “private interests” and “huge campaign funds” examine a stack of chairs representing U.S. Senate seats. One lifts a chair and asks the other, “What do you figure this one would cost?” Herblock returned to the same theme in 2000, just the year before his death, with a cartoon portraying a man, smoking a cigar and wearing a button labeling him as “big money interests,” sitting on the roof of the U.S. Capitol. Confronted by a much smaller figure with a questioning look and a sign reading “one person, one vote,” the big suit on the roof replies “It’s still a representative form of government — they represent us.”
Throughout his career Block was concerned about education, civil rights and the environment, and some of his cartoons on those subjects still ring true today. In a 1946 frame, a snooty-looking Statue of Liberty representing “U.S. immigration policy” peers through handled spectacles and holds out her hand in a “stop” gesture. At the base of the statue, President Harry Truman asks “What happened to the one we used to have?” On education, Herblock offers a 1955 cartoon labeled “An Apple for the teacher,” in which a prosperous nation is handing out dollars to sports, the auto industry and entertainment but leaves a female teacher, representing education, holding only an apple.
These are just a few of the frames that made Herblock a pre-eminent commentator on the American condition as well as a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner. His work is a vivid reminder of the frailties of this nation, as well as its amazing resilience. It’s a message worth considering as we celebrate America’s birthday.
Comments
jjinks 11 months, 2 weeks ago
The article is right about the country having problems before and getting through them but the problems today are much different. We never had politicians in bad times that were so blatantly opposed to the working man. In other times when the country was struggling people were always told that hard work was what would heal the wounds and that was true, always. Now we have a large group of people that are told, and they believe it, that they are deserving of a free ride through life on the backs of the working people. However when you have 49% of the people in this country not paying taxes the load is about to be unbearable. They can take all the money from the rich and it wouldn't last but a few days. Then what do they do? Yeah they can tax the middle class but if the rich leave where are the folks going for jobs? The health care that is about to come in to effect will destroy the middle class because that is the people that will pay for it, and I don't care what the politicians are trying to tell folks. If you think the health care problem in this country is bad now I will guarantee you what's to come will be a lot worse. I know a fellow in Canada that lives 300 miles from Winnipeg that now has to travel to Winnipeg for any medical problems. Before they had a hospital close by. There is a way out of the health care problems and it starts with doing away with frivolous law suits that drives the cost sky high. But putting the government in charge of it will destroy your way of life like never before. And the bad thing is it's so sad, the dumbing down of this country has come full circle, with the likes of the media being one-sided and the schools not teaching true history and on and on. Our grandfathers took most of their lives to say how much things changed, folks today won't recognize their country in ten years from now.
DougCounty 11 months, 2 weeks ago
Living 300 miles from Winnipeg sounds like a pretty rural area to me, and I know folks in Western Kansas that have to drive to either KC or Denver to get medical care as well. Furthermore, I know someone who lives in Winnipeg who is quite happy with the medical care they receive, both on the preventative and non-preventative end of things. So you seem to be conflating rural health problems with nationalized Canadian health care, something that is confusing at best.
jjinks 11 months, 2 weeks ago
Well if you are confused about what this means why would you want it? Aren't folks in rural areas entitled to as good of health care as in the city? There are a lot of people in Canada that come here to get lifesaving health care, but then they have money, which just adds to the ever increasing separation of the classes. Sure there are folks in Canada that are very happy with their health care but then they haven't been real sick yet have they and been told that they have to wait for what can be their life time for an operation. I don't think you are grasping the concept of my point, before the folks I was talking about couldd get a small problem taken care of right at home and now they are prone to wait till it get's worse before seeking medical attention. If you are confused about that concept then you are just refusing to understand. But of course just the fact that you can't see they problem with the federal government telling us who will live and who will die explains that doesn't it?
DougCounty 11 months, 2 weeks ago
You are the one who is confusing poor rural health access to perceived shortcomings in Canadian Health care. Folks I know who have had health issues in Canada have had no more trouble getting appropriate health care from the system than we have here, including no more delays than we have.
Your anecdotal problems are countered by my anecdotal counter-examples, so neither of us is likely to convince the other through this recounting. Perhaps a more useful measurement would be to look at the overall satisfaction level of each country's citizens, and if you look at those measurements, then Canada wins hands down.
seriouscat 11 months, 2 weeks ago
Payroll taxes, which were expanded in 1965 to include Medicare financing, keep on growing, while corporate taxes keep on shrinking. And those payroll taxes, excise taxes, and other taxes that the 47 percent do pay make up a good chunk of federal revenue.
Since 1950, regressive payroll taxes have grown to comprise over one-third of federal revenues—they used to comprise about one-tenth. For corporate income taxes, it's just the opposite—what used to provide the Treasury over a quarter of its revenue now provides just over 10 percent.
jafs 11 months, 2 weeks ago
So much to correct.
First, it's about 47%, it's "federal income taxes", not "taxes", the number comes from a rather abnormal set of conditions, and most of those folks are senior citizens on small SS benefits.
I wonder why Canada closed the nearby hospital - probably because a more conservative group gained power and cut funding for health care, hmm?
States that have tried tort reform have found that it doesn't do much to lower health care costs, but of course it does make it much harder for patients to demand accountability from physicians. And, you know, we currently have laws that can be used if lawsuits really are frivolous - one can sue another for filing those.
I do agree, of course, that the country is experiencing a "dumbing down".
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