The above political cartoon depicts Hugo Chavez atop a rolling barrel of oil, escaping an angry mob. This seems to be a commentary on Chavez’s infamy for funding political schemes with oil money while neglecting the needs of Venezuelan citizens, which could be paid for with the same money. Chavez is seen as “getting away” with his actions by using oil money, and the sometimes-rioting citizens are portrayed here as a mob. If a United States president was found to have been funding private projects with the nation’s money, there is no doubt he would have been punished and Americans relieved of his corruption. Do Venezuelans, for some reason, not deserve this justice? If they cannot help themselves, it is the duty of those who are able to step in.-ET
In this cartoon, Chavez is seen as a “big hit in Venezuela.” When Uncle Sam hears this, though, he discovers that Chavez is actually Karl Marx, the father of socialism, risen from the grave. This seems to be a commentary on the “populist regime” that puts Chavez in power. In other socialist nations of the past, such as the United Soviet Socialist Republic or USSR, the government has fallen apart and been replaced with a new “democratic” system. In current ones such as the People’s Republic of China, many call their rulers dictatorlike and their systems unjust. As a rule, America is anti-communist. If we are to fight for capitalism, Venezuela is a necessary battleground. -ET
This cartoon shows the first settlers coming to the U.S. when they are met by Native Americans telling them that they need identification to get by. The difference between the Native Americans and the newcomers is shown by the difference in their eyes. It relates to how the immigrants trying to come here today don’t look like us, either. The cartoon is illustrating how Americans today are hypocrites when they don’t let immigrants in, since we were immigrants in the first place. Moreover, there were already people here when we came, and they didn’t want us here. So we were illegal immigrants. Right now there is much debate about what should be done about the illegal immigrants, especially from Mexico. It is ironic because when the early Americans took over the Native American territory, they didn’t care about the Native Americans at all. -EL
