I’ve been bitten by the “cleaning up” “sorting out bug.” As a consequence, I’ve come across a slew of files I have saved from the past. One of those files contains newspaper clippings from 1980 and 1981. Among them is a cartoon by Jules Feiffer. A woman in leotards is doing a dance to “celebrate conservative answers.” In consecutive frames, we find these words: “cutting taxes,” “cutting government handouts to the poor and aged,” “balancing the budget,” “not throwing dollars at problems,” “freeing the economy of corporate restraints,” “getting government off the back of the people.” Then in the last frame, our woman in standing in a line saying” dance to spring.” She is holding a sign with the word “bread” on it. She is obviously in a bread line.
Good grief. Have today’s Republicans been reading Jules Feiffer from 1981? Couldn’t they get some ideas of their own? Didn’t they read Feiffer’s last frame? Where do they think their policies will end? Its back to the future.
The other articles and cartoons in that file are interesting too. There was then President Reagan’s threat to send troops to the Sinai to protect the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Worries and debates about Iran. There were articles about Central America and the threat of communism. A report on the Pope’s visit to Central America during which time he told priests and women religious to keep their noses out of politics and concentrate on prayer and the poor. (How does one concentrate on the poor and keep one’s nose out of politics?) Several op-ed pieces on women’s status and society’s response. And an article on the fashionability of comfortable shoes.
Well, thinking about these things, its not all back to the future. We worry less about communism these days than terrorism. And the creators of fashion don’t seem to be into comfortable shoes. And women’s status seems ho-hum.
But it is thirty years since 1981. Back to Feiffer. Do we have to keep recycling old political rhetoric? Doesn’t anyone have any new ideas? And when will the American public catch on to the fact that when we run around in circles we don’t get anywhere. In addition, we are in danger of boring ourselves to death.