Thursday, January 26, 2012
Political Cartoon Analysis (Responses due by Friday, February 3 at 8:00 AM)
For our blog this week, I would like for you to analyze the political cartoon I have included below. This cartoon, as many of you will agree, unfortunately summarizes the state of our country at this time. Do you agree with this cartoon? Why or why not? Why does it seem, according to the author, the poor do not have a voice in the political world? What types of specific issues should political parties be addressing in reference to the poor in America? Cite specific examples in your answers. Originality and creativity (not simply restating an answer given by another student) will be considered in your grade for this particular blog.
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14 comments:
I do agree with the cartoon in this blog: usually Republicans are more wealthy and Democrats more often than not belong to the middle class. The poor in our nation feel unrepresented so they do not have a political party. There are those people who defy these usually standards, but this is a rule that is consistently followed. You can tell how the author feels about political parties by the way that he portrayed them. He illustrated the Republican by using the elephant. The elephant is large and looks powerful. It is smoking a cigar and wearing a suit. This clearly shows Republicans as rich. The author illustrates the donkey as scrawny and average. He looks an average working class man. This shows that he is the middle class. The space under "The Party of the Poor" is empty. This obviously displays how the poor do not have a voice in government. I think the author feels the poor doesn't have a voice because politicians are more likely to be wealthy than poor. Therefore, the politicians cannot relate to their issues. By effect, the poor do not have a voice in the government.
I guess I do agree that this cartoon summarizes the state of our country. The Republican party is known as the party of the wealthy, well-educated people. The Democrat party best represents the middle class. Neither party really represents the poor in our country. The poor in America don't really have a voice, because neither party represents them. It is difficult for a party that came from the poor or is based around their issues to stay around or become popular in our country because the politicians with influence over our country come from the Republican or Democratic parties. I think the Democratic party definitely tries to help those less fortunate, but they don't exactly 'represent' them. Issues that affect the poor in our country include unemployment, inequality, not having the resources necessary to live, being unable to receive higher education, single-parent families, and health care. Since neither of the major political parties truly represent the poor in our nation, they feel underrepresented in politics.
I definitely agree with this cartoon. Because of our economic state, the poor aren't being represented simply because they don't seem to have a voice anymore let alone can't be represented by one image like a donkey or elephant because anyone who has suffered from unemployment whether it be a wealthy American or "average joe" can become poor in a matter of time especially in today's economy. Therefore, because there isn't one specific thing that defines "The Party of the Poor" it also shows us that it can be anybody whether your an independent, Republican, or Democrat. Sure democrats are the ones fighting for them, but in this cartoon, it seems like they're the ones barely holding on compared to the Republicans who are pictured as strong and wealthy. Moreover, there are many factors of why The Party of the Poor is the way it is. For example, issues like unemployment, high taxes, and rising cost in health care contribute to Americans who are struggling financially. I also interpreted the blank space under the poor as the author telling us that there isn't hope for the poor if no one can represent them and help them overcome this harsh time if this continues.
I do agree with what this cartoon is representing. I think that it actually does depict well the attitudes and reality of our current government situation. Of course it has been known throughout history that the Republicans are comprised of the wealthy and elite class in American society, those who often are considered to have more influenced and become involved in politics. Over time the Democratic party has become associated with the working class, as clearly shown in this cartoon with the scrawny, nerdy looking donkey. And to the far left of this cartoon there seems to be no one under the title 'The Party of the Poor'. I think that in the cartoon artist's eyes that he/she thinks the poor has no one to represent them in our government thus to the government they do not exist. It may be a fact that the poor has no voice but it is my opinion that this is not what the American government should be like. I don't think our founding fathers set up a democracy to leave out the voice of the poor. I think to incorporate the issues of the poor politicians need to address high taxes that the poor cannot pay, unemployment that is creating the poor class, home fore closers, eduction costs for college, the cost of living, and much more. The poor need our help, which is current received through volunteers donating their time at homeless shelters and soup kitchens. I think that this 'Poor class' can be taken care of addressed right away!
I guess it is surprising that you would suggest, given the fact that the head of the democratic party who is President Obama, who happens to be a millionaire according to his tax returns that were released recently. Both parties have a different approach in aiding the poor. Although the cartoon says that no one is representing the poor, in actuality, both Republican and Democrats believe they are. Democrats believe government should give them food, a place to live, education, and health. Whereas, the Republicans believe that by promoting a healthy economy all people, rich, poor, or middle class, will benefit. Just like the Chinese proverb says, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," the Democrats give the poor a fish, while the Republicans teach them to fish. In order to assist the poor, charitable donations are the best way for the poor to be comforted. Both parties should work to pass legislation to make charitable donations more efficient in assisting the poor (although charitable donations are not taxed on their income, perhaps they can receive addition benefits from the government when they open soup kitchens, living quarters, or even hospitals).
I feel like this cartoon accurately describes parts of what the political parties typically are today. It shows the Republicans as being the richer and the Democrats as being more middle class. In a way this is true but not entirely. It is not mandatory for a Republican to be wealthy and it is not mandatory for a Democrat to be of the middle class. It seems the poor to not have a voice in this cartoon because they are unrepresented. If Republicans are viewed as the wealthy and Democrats as middle class, there is no major political party for the underclass to identify themselves with. One main issue that concerns the poorer Americans is healthcare. Since many in the lower class can not afford healthcare, it is an issue that is important to them. The poor (in this photo) feel they need a party to relate to and identify with and that seizes to exist. Therefore, they do not have an image representing them. Another issue political parties need to address for the poor so that they can try and find party identification is education. Since many of the lower class can not afford to send teir children to a school with decent education, the political parties should try and relate to this issue to gain supporters of the lower class and therefore, give them a party they can relate to.
I agree with the cartoon. Wealthy people tend to lean toward the Republicnas and middle class Americans tend to lean more toward Democrats. The lower class don't get a fair representation in the government. Even though Dmeocrats focus more on welfare issues and distibuting wealth, the poor never get the opprotunity to share their voice. Many people are feel the poor are uneducated and not smart enough to decide what they should recieve from the government. Some issues that effect the poor include unemployment, and health care. The Democrats also include these issues in their campaigns, but they focus on helping the "average" American with these problems instead of setting up programs that will specifically help the poor. As a result the poor loss trust in the government because many poeple don't listen the what they want.
i definitely agree with the political cartoon. i think that many rich Americans are usually Republicans and the middle class is classified as mostly democrats. According to the author, the poor does not have any party to belong to because it is an empty space. We can interpret this as the fact that the poor usually are not as literate and may not be involved in politics like wealthier people. Therefore, there are very little people in government representing the poor class in the United States. In reference to the poor in America, we should be addressing the fact that most are homeless because of the housing markets. Also we should address the root of the problem which would be considered schooling. every child, poor or rich, should have a shot at a good education. The schools should be funded in order to provide intricate courses to help invigorate the minds of the children citizens. Also another problem to address is health care because most poor people are obviously not able to afford it. These problems are not able to be easily solved, but if the government works hard enough, it is definitely not impossible.
I agree with what this cartoon represents. Typically, Republicans are rich and strong, hence being represented by a cigar-smoking elephant wearing a nice suit. Democrats are usually average people within the working class. As you can see in the cartoon, the poor have no representation. This is an accurate picture because the poor feel that they don't have any say-so in government and society, so they just simply don't vote or involve themselves in any political activity. Since the poor tend to be absent in politics, there obviously is not any representation of them, let alone a symbol, hence why the space under "Party of the Poor" is empty. Political parties should consider tax cuts that more people can afford. Also, I think that Obama's job proposal in the State of the Union that would provide over 2,000 people with job training so that they are capable of entering into the work force is a great idea. This would certainly decrease the unemployment rate and increase household income, which can ultimately result in more political participation.
This political cartoon is showing that the poor has no say in the government. I agree with this political cartoon. Right now in the government the Republican Party represents the rich and the Democratic Party represent the middle class, but there is nobody representing the poor. The poor doesn’t have a say in the government because they don’t have enough power and voice in our country. The reason that the author gives for this problem is that they are not represented. The author believes that the republicans only focus on the improvement of the rich and the democrats only focus on the improvement of the middle class. Sadly, for the poor, there is no other party to represent them. In order to help the poor it is very important for these political parties to start focusing on specific issues involving the poor. For example, political parties could focus on creating more jobs. The creation of new jobs could help some of the poor get back on their feet and start providing for themselves. Another issue that political parties could focus on is providing shelters to the poor so they don’t get involved with violence and have a place to go to receive food and a safe place to sleep. These political parties could also try to come up with some kind of plan that gives the poor some kind of income so they can get started on the right path and look for some other source of income. The poor is a growing concern in our country and if political parties don’t try to come up with a way to help them and represent them then the conditions for the poor are only going to get worse and worse.
I do agree with this cartoon. The party of the rich is being represented by the Republicans (elephant) and the party of the middle class is being represented by the Democrats (donkey). However, this does not mean in any way the there are not rich or middle class people in either party it just seems to be that way for quite some time now. I don’t completely agree, however, with the party of the poor not being represented. For the most part this is true, but Obama has/is working on getting this people to be part of his party and spread the wealth of all Americans. I can’t believe I am going to say this, but it is a smart strategy of his for the elections. Examples would be his healthcare and his idea of taxing for the rich. But, I do not think the poor have even the slightest amount of representation that they should. Both political parties are only focused on winning and beating each other that they don’t focus on the issues of the poor and don’t try to incorporate them in anything. Even when it comes time for elections and such they don’t focus their attention on the poor because they feel there is no point or they are not educated well enough. The outfits such as the fancy suit and the work outfit add to the cartoon idea, even though I don’t totally agree with it. The working class can still have nice things and again not all Republican are rich and not all Democrats are middle class. The issues that our government needs to focus on with the poor is making sure they are healthy, with enough food, shelter, education, and they need to start being able to have a voice. They are just as much part of this nation as we are. But for the most part I would say this is a representation of our current nation, but very stereotypical.
I do agree that, unfortunately, this cartoon does portray the way our political parties are organized today. The Republican Party is made up mainly of the wealthier citizens of our country whereas the majority of the Democratic Party are working- class citizens and the poor people of America are underrepresented. It seems that the poor people in our country are not represented well in the government because there voices are not often included in planning or heard on certain issues. Some specific issues that should be addressed that include the poor citizens in our country are obviously things like lowering the amount of unemployment and making health care obtainable for everyone. Other issues that concern the poor people in our country that are often neglected can be things like making education more available for under- educated adults looking for a job or creating more living options and places that homeless people can go to stay the night instead of sleeping on the streets, and also. Although doing things like opening more homeless shelters may seem like an unreasonable goal considering the state of our economy right now I think that taking care and helping the poor people on our country should be a top priority. Since our economy is so awful, there lives are probably harder then ever and addressing issues such as these and hearing there opinions on things would get them involved in the political process.
In relation to the generalizations about political parties, I do agree with the cartoon. Republicans are generally stereotyped as the rich, and the Democrats are stereotypes as the middle class. However, the space about the poor having no party in America is absolutely correct, but the Democrats are as much to blame for this as the Republicans. Do you see any Democratic Congressman or woman giving up their salary any more than a Republican? Absolutely not. The message is clear. No matter how Democrats bitterly slander Republicans, they forget the money that lies in their bank accounts, and they forget that THEY ARE ALSO THE RICH!!! This country has, is, and for the foreseen future will be run by the rich, either Democrat or Republican. I agree with the cartoon, but I think it would be more fitting to show both parties representing the rich, because that is what the reality is. No matter what speeches or promises are made by Democrats, they are ultimately run by their endorsers, who (no surprise here) are rich. Neither party has the right to claim that they are the "middle class" party because neither party actually identifies, nor empathizes with the middle class. Coming off of that statement, if there is no middle class party, I feel safe to say that there is no party for the poor either. This is where both parties ignore this class. They have no initiative to interact with this class of people, therefore when they make legislation, there is usually a clause that excludes the poor. Because the poor are not economically viable to them, they are not included in the legislation. The cartoonist seems to be telling us that he thinks that the poor don't have a party because the rich supposedly have the Republicans, and the middle class supposedly have the Democrats, so at the end of the day, there is no one left to defend the poor. Both parties are so concerned with the problems on their own plate, they don't pay any attention to the world around them. There are many types of issues that both parties should be focusing on fixing. First is health care. I do not agree on what Obama is doing with health care especially because he is pro-choice and therefore adds provisions to those laws that support abortion. That aside,I don't agree with his economic handling of it because this will effectively drive the United States deeper into debt. First off, I think that the biggest problem in health care is ironically, bureaucracy. Too many loop holes, too many forms, too many unanswered questions about health care. We don't need to replace the health care system, all we need to do is to fix it. Start by eliminating cosmetic surgeries, like liposuction, from being covered by Medicare. Then provide more coverage for prevention and life threatening illnesses. For example, if you have a family of four. Cover the, for regular checkups and tests as a preventative measure. The shrink coverage on elective surgeries, but increase coverage on life threatening issues. Finally, start following the money very tightly. No more lost dollars, no more waste. If we can clean up the health care system and clear away the red tape, it would solve so many of the problems that we are facing today.
I think that this cartoon is true, but it is also a stereotype. While this may be true for the majority of America, there are always exceptions to the rule. According to the author, it seems that he or she believes that that the poor do not have a voice in the political world due to the types of jobs that the poor do and do not hold. In the cartoon, the Republican elephant is shown to be dressed as a wealthy businessman or the CEO of a company while the Democratic donkey is dressed as a middle class white collar average office worker. I think that this is meant to say that certain types of jobs and education also follow political party stereotypes because education determines jobs and jobs determine income and income determines social class. From this it can be determined that those with less than a high school education, working blue collar jobs, and earning low income are underrepresented in politics because there are few politicians that come from this class. The reason that the poor lack representation is because most politicians are educated, so they mainly come from a wealthy or middle class background and have earned a college education. In reference to the poor in America, I think that education should be encouraged among the poor because it helps prevent the continuation of the cycle of poverty. This could be done through more advertising for colleges particularly those that provide programs through which two-year degrees can be earned because this may be more appealing to students who were not planning on attending college originally. Also community colleges should also advertise to this group more, and I also think that these students should be given plenty of financial aid. I do not think that students from the lower classes should be accepted based on their low incomes though like so many colleges accept minority students now. I think that increased education for the poor will make them more aware of politics and government as studies show how political participation increases as level of education increases.
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