LOL!

Yes, I could see myself talking to your parents, and your dad and I would finally find common ground:

Well, they say it’s kinda fright’nin’ how this younger generation swings. You know, it’s more than just some new sensation.

"These kids today, they ain't got no respect..."

Re: political cartoons:

Iconography has been used for millennia to educate and persuade. You saw some outstanding examples depicted in glass last summer, an experience which I envy you.

Caricature, developed as a parlor game during the Renaissance, was used to satirize individuals. Many of these individuals were public figures, of whom verbal criticism would have been very dangerous.

Published woodcuts depicting historical scenes in an inflammatory context were used during the Reformation by Martin Luther to illustrate his points to people who either couldn't read or hadn't enough education to understand the theological arguments of the day. (Reading chapbooks about the adventures of Saint George and the Dragon provided little academic enrichment. ;) )

When caricature met picture commentary of politics, we got political cartoons. They have been a powerful weapon, and especially so in the history of the United States.

Righteous anger is often boring. A good episode of satire, though, acts like a pin applied to the overinflated self-important body politic. And, they say truly, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Art has remarkable power. Political art often makes its point better, and more memorably, than a syndicated columnist can ever hope to. It has the advantage of depicting human faces, which draw our eyes because of our biology. Primates like to look at and remember faces as a favored kind of pattern recognition.

That's why we "see" so many of them on Mars.

Regards--
Mary Anne