Today's Bizarro is brought to you by the U.S. Army. "Be all that you can be, for much longer than we promised."
I sometimes do cartoons about controversial themes and expect to get letters from disgruntled readers. This was not one of those cartoons, to my mind, but I got not one, but TWO letters from people who thought I was disparaging the Salvation Army. One person believed I was insinuating that the SA would steal from you.
I politely explained that I have supported the SA for decades, with donations of a lot of valuable stuff that I'm just too lazy to put on Craig's List, and that I was simply exploring the humorous possibilities of combing the Salvation Army with the U.S. Army.
Regarding the U.S. Army, servicemen and women have typically supported Republicans, deeming them stronger on defense, and when the Iraq War first started, Bush's competency wasn't even up for discussion. Any implication that the war might go badly was met with accusations of treason. But it is good to see many veterans are coming around to a more reasonable opinion. The fact that someone is your commander in chief, does not mean he knows what he's doing or that he has honorable intentions.
A famous guy with a funny wig and short pants once said something like, "A patriot is one who questions his government, not follows it blindly." That's not even close to the right quote but it is past my nap time and I don't have the energy to look it up right now. I'm sure one of you fine readers will correct me. I count on you for these things.
11 comments:
I'm a bit disappointed that someone who seems to have pretty decent politics (you) would support the SA. they are a right wing religious organization that has many questionable views and practices.
I'm not sure how you'd call the SA "right wing", especially by American standards.
For the record, I also have concerns about the SA, but they're centred not around what they do, but around what they sometimes fail to do.
Incidentally, have you ever seen The Goodies episode, Scoutrageous?
I call them right wing because they are social conservatives (read: homophobic, sexist, anti-choice, etc). I agree that by american standards they may seem to be more "left", but by american standards the democrats are liberal. I would never judge anything by "american standards".
Re: patriotism quote. You may mean this one, by Mark Twain: "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."
That's a good quote, but it's not the one I'm thinking of. This one is from a Founding Father, like Thomas Payne, or someone. I'll find it eventually.
Regarding previous comments on the SA: I admit I don't know anything about their politics. There's a big one a couple of blocks from my house and it is where I bring my stuff. That's the extent of my support.
Maybe I'm not looking as deeply into this panel as I should be, but I think it's a friggin' riot. (Left-winger all the way.) I love the play on the "Army" part of Salvation Army -- a special wing of an organization that takes stuff you don't use anymore. I think what slays me about it the most is the guy decked out in special forces gear who knows what lamps are in style. I didn't even know lamps could go out of style. (Unless the bulb burnt out.)
I love a good play on words--I frequently tell my dog that she belongs in the Salivation Army.
It's not the quote youre looking for, but Theodore Roosevelt said:
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president."
Along the same lines as the one you're looking for is this by H. L. Mencken:
"The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair."
Same idea, but Im not sure that's the right one... You also have:
"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually" -James Baldwin
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -Theodore Roosevelt
"Patriotism does not oblige us to acquiesce in the destruction of liberty. Patriotism obliges us to question it, at least." -Wendy Kaminer
All shots in the dark mind you... sorry for the long comment.
I saw this one on a bumper sticker last week: "You measure a democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." --Abbie Hoffman
I don't care if people are pro- or anti-SA -- this is a hilarious cartoon.
I can not help but think of the walk in closets my mom could fill, yet she could still find reason to mention how she never had anything to wear. haha God, how my Dad would have loved the SASF.
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