Memes are prolific. Some make you laugh. Some make you cry.
Many are political, mostly doctored for effect.
Let’s consider a few of these.
It’s no surprise Donald Trump often appears. One shows him in the left of two frames with his standard sour expression. His yellow hair is folded over and blowing wildly in the wind. In the right frame is a piece of corn. The husk is partially peeled, and the corn silk is shown, also blowing in the wind. The hair on the left and the silk on the right bear a strong resemblance in shape and color. The caption reads, “WHO WORE IT BETTER?”
Herschel Walker is a current hit, due in part to his flashing an honorary sheriff’s badge he had received. It’s become a big thing with him, and he has ordered at least 1000 to give away to support his claim to be a friend to law enforcement. One meme presents him alongside actors from the Andy Griffith show proudly holding his badge. Another shows what appears to be an airline captain’s wings with the caption, “IF YOU BOARD YOUR PLANE AND SEE HERSCHEL WALKER WITH THESE ON…GET TF OFF THE PLANE!!!”
Many memes are clever. Created by talented innovators.
Other sources of humor are Andy Borowitz’s pithy comments. Again, by an extremely clever guy. Here are a few.
“Since Herschel Walker is a lying hypocrite who takes no responsibility for his actions, he should not be the GOP candidate for Senate. He should be the GOP candidate for President.”
“Jared Kushner Calls Hunter Biden a Grifter Who Only Got Job Through Nepotism”
“US Supreme Court Conservatives Shaken by Images of Foreign Women Demanding Rights”
“Trump Says If He Loses At Supreme Court He Will Appeal To Ginni Thomas”
I wish I could be so clever.
The memes and the quotes make those of us who worry about the future of our country feel pretty good.
And it’s not only the amusing posts that we suck up. For example, James Carville recently said, “Stupid people elect stupid people.”
All of this, the funny memes, the Borowitz one liners, the comments about stupid people, all make us feel better—and superior.
Maybe at this time of stress for us and our country this is what we need to lessen our worries and discouragement. And that’s not a bad goal.
But…
Yeah, there’s a but.
Is what we want a short-lived chuckle and a comfortable feeling of superiority?
Or would we prefer even more the long-term security of a country based on democratic principles, mutual respect, and compromise involving a robust two-party system run by responsible people? Like the country we used to have.
If it’s the latter, then we must accept that the leaders of the current version of the Republican party must not be allowed to control our government at any level—national, state, local.
And that means our energies should be razor focused on achieving that goal.
If that’s the case, then one has to ask what good all the clever memes and all the devastating one-liners and all the superior feelings are accomplishing. Obviously, they will do nothing to achieve our real goal. After all, we need people to change their minds, and no one likes to hear they are stupid jerks.
Of course, saying all this is the easy part. How do we actually achieve change?
Unfortunately, I don’t have a clue.
But I can’t help but wonder what would happen if all the creative people developing memes and penetrating comments concentrated their efforts on convincing Republicans to change the way they think about their party. Not with the tired and ineffectual standard arguments of the Democratic party, but with the innovative thought-provoking humorous products of their fertile minds. Would it work? Who knows?
We don’t need many Republicans to change.
But we sure need some.
Especially if the upcoming election is as bad as it threatens to be.
Otherwise, all we’ll have to turn to will be the memes and clever comments. As long as the authoritarian government allows them.
Many are political, mostly doctored for effect.
Let’s consider a few of these.
It’s no surprise Donald Trump often appears. One shows him in the left of two frames with his standard sour expression. His yellow hair is folded over and blowing wildly in the wind. In the right frame is a piece of corn. The husk is partially peeled, and the corn silk is shown, also blowing in the wind. The hair on the left and the silk on the right bear a strong resemblance in shape and color. The caption reads, “WHO WORE IT BETTER?”
Herschel Walker is a current hit, due in part to his flashing an honorary sheriff’s badge he had received. It’s become a big thing with him, and he has ordered at least 1000 to give away to support his claim to be a friend to law enforcement. One meme presents him alongside actors from the Andy Griffith show proudly holding his badge. Another shows what appears to be an airline captain’s wings with the caption, “IF YOU BOARD YOUR PLANE AND SEE HERSCHEL WALKER WITH THESE ON…GET TF OFF THE PLANE!!!”
Many memes are clever. Created by talented innovators.
Other sources of humor are Andy Borowitz’s pithy comments. Again, by an extremely clever guy. Here are a few.
“Since Herschel Walker is a lying hypocrite who takes no responsibility for his actions, he should not be the GOP candidate for Senate. He should be the GOP candidate for President.”
“Jared Kushner Calls Hunter Biden a Grifter Who Only Got Job Through Nepotism”
“US Supreme Court Conservatives Shaken by Images of Foreign Women Demanding Rights”
“Trump Says If He Loses At Supreme Court He Will Appeal To Ginni Thomas”
I wish I could be so clever.
The memes and the quotes make those of us who worry about the future of our country feel pretty good.
And it’s not only the amusing posts that we suck up. For example, James Carville recently said, “Stupid people elect stupid people.”
All of this, the funny memes, the Borowitz one liners, the comments about stupid people, all make us feel better—and superior.
Maybe at this time of stress for us and our country this is what we need to lessen our worries and discouragement. And that’s not a bad goal.
But…
Yeah, there’s a but.
Is what we want a short-lived chuckle and a comfortable feeling of superiority?
Or would we prefer even more the long-term security of a country based on democratic principles, mutual respect, and compromise involving a robust two-party system run by responsible people? Like the country we used to have.
If it’s the latter, then we must accept that the leaders of the current version of the Republican party must not be allowed to control our government at any level—national, state, local.
And that means our energies should be razor focused on achieving that goal.
If that’s the case, then one has to ask what good all the clever memes and all the devastating one-liners and all the superior feelings are accomplishing. Obviously, they will do nothing to achieve our real goal. After all, we need people to change their minds, and no one likes to hear they are stupid jerks.
Of course, saying all this is the easy part. How do we actually achieve change?
Unfortunately, I don’t have a clue.
But I can’t help but wonder what would happen if all the creative people developing memes and penetrating comments concentrated their efforts on convincing Republicans to change the way they think about their party. Not with the tired and ineffectual standard arguments of the Democratic party, but with the innovative thought-provoking humorous products of their fertile minds. Would it work? Who knows?
We don’t need many Republicans to change.
But we sure need some.
Especially if the upcoming election is as bad as it threatens to be.
Otherwise, all we’ll have to turn to will be the memes and clever comments. As long as the authoritarian government allows them.
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